Cruel decrees against circumcision can no longer be dismissed as remnants of the ancient Greek and Roman empires. FromGermanytoLondontoSan Francisco, Jews suddenly find themselves on the defensive, fighting for the right to perform bris milah — the Torah’s first defining Jewish mitzvah.
The simchah that a German Jewish family felt at the beginning of the month after being blessed with a healthy newborn boy turned to shock when their mohel informed them that he could only perform the bris inAntwerp because he feared German authorities might sue him for the mere act of performing a circumcision.
The rights of Jewish — and Muslim — parents to circumcise their children are under unprecedented legal attack following a June 26 district court ruling in Cologne Germany in the case of a Muslim doctor who botched a circumcision on a four-year old Muslim boy.
While the court cleared the doctor of criminal charges it issued a far-reaching decision: since circumcision irreversibly modifies a child’s body it would not be considered an infringement of parents’ rights orGermany’s Basic Laws if they are forced to delay the procedure until the child reaches the age of legal maturity and consents to his own circumcision.
Raging Debate The ramifications of the ruling caused the cancellation of one bris in Cologne and the unusual request by the Belgian mohel to transport the newborn toAntwerp and also led the Berlin Jewish Hospital to announce a suspension of all circumcisions.
Create a free account to keep reading.
