Written by Jonah Halpern

As I often do, I was scrolling through my news feed for updates on Israel – the hostages, the ongoing war, and the many challenges facing our beloved nation – when an article from Arutz Sheva caught my attention. It presented a topic I was already familiar with, though I didn’t expect to see it featured on an Israeli news site.

The article highlighted a report over 500 pages long, which revisited the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic:

“According to the report, the [COVID-19] virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. Most U.S. intelligence agencies claim the virus was not genetically engineered, but the precise origins of the pandemic remain unclear.”

So far, there was nothing particularly surprising, but the article went on to elaborate:

“The World Health Organization had previously criticized China’s lack of transparency regarding the pandemic: ‘The lack of data disclosure is simply unforgivable. The longer it takes to understand the origins of the pandemic, the harder it becomes to answer the question, and the world becomes less safe.’”

I completely agree with the World Health Organization’s perspective here. However, I found it puzzling why Arutz Sheva, an Israeli publication, chose to revisit this topic. For one, while the debate surrounding COVID-19’s origins has been contentious, much of what was reported in the article is already widely known. Additionally, it seems unnecessary to resurface these discussions five years after the pandemic’s onset.

More importantly, the article raises questions about its relevance. The WHO, as a UN agency headquartered in Switzerland with an Ethiopian Director-General, does not seem directly tied to Israeli interests. With so many critical issues currently affecting Israel – including a brutal war and the undetermined fate of the hostages – it feels misplaced to focus on something that is no longer an immediate concern.

I’m left wondering why, at such a pivotal moment in Israel’s history, a topic like this would take precedence over more pressing updates for its readership.

NOTES: 

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/400161