Learning about Anti-Semitism in a Leper Colony

When Jews today think of leprosy, it’s most often in the context of the biblical dermatological ailment of tsara’at—which, although traditionally translated as “leprosy,” likely refers to some other disease. But Irina Velitskaya grew up in an actual leper colony, or, more precisely, in a remote village in the southeastern corner of European Russia built around a sanitorium for lepers. She came of age not knowing she was Jewish, but frequently bullied by classmates who were convinced she was. Later in life, she had three revelations. The first was that her classmates were right.