CAMERA’s Israel office yesterday prompted correction of a Haaretz Op-Ed by Shannon Maree Torrens which falsely claimed that Israel refused a request from the World Health Organization to provide vaccines for Palestinian health workers. The Jan. 11 Op-Ed, “COVID vaccines: The latest example of Israel’s most lethal disregard for Palestinian lives,” appeared in the English’s print edition as well as online. Torrens, identified as an international and human rights lawyer from Australia who has worked at the United Nations international criminal tribunals, leveled the fallacious charge:
The World Health Organization asked Israel to make the vaccine available for Palestinian health workers but Israel refused, arguing that they did not have enough vaccines, all while surpassing the rest of the world in the rate at which it is vaccinating its people.