Swine flu hasn’t skipped the Jewish state. And despite some attempts, neither has its non-kosher name.
Deputy health minister Yakov Litzman, a member of an ultra-religious party, said that the name “swine flu” should not be used as it contains the name of the animal banned by Judaism.
Instead he said the authorities should call the virus sweeping the globe “Mexican flu.”
PHOTO: EPA
That, however, did not sit well with either Mexico’s ambassador to Israel nor the Jewish state’s envoy to Mexico.
Mexico’s ambassador Frederico Salas and the Israeli envoy to Mexico Yosef Livne both lodged official complaints at the foreign ministry protesting at the new term.
“The ambassador (Salas) said he was offended when the deputy health minister called it the Mexican flu,” a foreign ministry official told AFP.
“Israel has no intention of giving the flu any new names. It was nothing more than a slip of the tongue,” the official said.
Eating of pork is prohibited by Judaism, the religion practised by the majority of Israelis. Islam, adhered to by most of Israel’s Arab minority, likewise bans consumption of pork.
Israel confirmed that two nationals who recently returned from Mexico had contracted swine flu in the first such cases in the Middle East.
US officials also said they were reviewing whether to change the name of the outbreak, complaining that a slew of countries were misguidedly banning pork exports from North America.
“This is not a food-borne crisis. It’s important to not refer to swine flu. It’s important to convey the message that consuming pork will not cause this illness,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters. (AFP)
以色列這個猶太國家不僅沒逃過豬流感的肆虐,即使經過一番努力,也還是躲不過這個不適當的名稱。
極端正統猶太教政黨的衛生部副部長雅可夫.李茲曼表示,不該使用「豬流感」這個名稱,因為當中的豬字對猶太教來說是大忌。
他認為當局應將這波席捲全球的病毒更名為「墨西哥流感」。
但無論是對墨西哥駐以色列大使或以國駐墨西哥外交使節來說,這個名稱聽起來都不太順耳。
墨西哥大使弗列德里寇.沙剌斯和以色列駐墨西哥外交官約瑟夫.李文都向以色列外交部提出正式抗議,反對使用這種新名稱。
外交部某位官員對法新社表示:「墨國大使(沙剌斯)說,衛生部副部長聲稱的墨西哥流感讓他覺得受到冒犯。」
這位官員說:「以色列無意為這種流感冠上任何新名稱,這只是一時失言罷了。」
以色列國民多數信奉禁止食用豬肉的猶太教。而以色列境內多數阿拉伯人(少數族裔)信奉的伊斯蘭教也同樣禁止食用豬肉。
以色列證實,兩名最近從墨西哥返國的以色列國人已感染豬流感,這是中東地區的第一起病例。
美國官員也表示,他們正在探討是否要替這場爆發的疫情更名,並抱怨許多國家被誤導而禁止進口北美輸出的豬肉。
美國農業部部長湯姆.威薩克對記者說:「這不是經由食物傳播的危機。重要的是,不要歸咎於豬流感,要告知大眾食用豬肉並不會導致這種疾病。」
(法新社╱翻譯:袁星塵)
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