In a ruling that will affect Muslims as much as Jews, a district court in Cologne, Germany, has ruled that circumcision is illegal. The case, which stemmed from a botched circumcision of a Muslim child, is just the latest instance in which the religious practice has been attacked. But though the legal implications of the ruling are not yet entirely clear as it may violate the European Union’s Convention on Human Rights, it raises the possibility that a ritual integral to Jewish identity as well as required by Muslim religious law will be banned.
For the growing Jewish community, the court may have created a serious logistical problem, as this may deter doctors or other persons from performing circumcisions because of a fear of prosecution or lawsuits. But just as important is the symbolism of the ban coming from a country where open expressions of anti-Semitism were driven underground by the reaction to the Nazi era. If a judge can attack Judaism as well as Islam head on in this manner without fear of the consequences, then perhaps a tipping point may have been reached in German society that may have serious consequences for the long-term viability of Jewish life in the country and Western Europe.
The ruling baldly claimed circumcision inflicted “damage” on children and could not be protected by freedom of religion, though there is no rational reason for anyone to believe this is the case. Mistakes in circumcisions are rare and probably less likely to occur than errors in routine medical procedures. But the court went even further in asserting the assumption that parents don’t have the right to choose a faith for their child. That might be interpreted as an attack on all religions. But it must be considered particularly threatening to members of minority faiths, particularly Jews who remember well that in past centuries the majority sometimes tried to take Jewish children away from their parents by claiming it was in their interests not to be inculcated in Judaism.
While some on the left, including one German professor quoted in Ha’aretz, may think this is a blow struck for the freedom of children, it is really an attempt to further marginalize both Judaism and Islam.
An attempt was made last year to place a referendum banning circumcision on the ballot in San Francisco. But the sponsors’ use of an openly anti-Semitic Web comic book drew so much attention that critics were able to quash the effort. Though support for such measures may exist on the margins in the United States, the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe may have allowed this cause to drift into the mainstream. Along with other attempts to ban kosher slaughter elsewhere in Europe, the German bris ban calls into question the safety of Jews in a Western Europe where Jew-hatred often mixed with anti-Zionism has emerged from the shadows.
Though it is to be hoped this ruling will soon be overturned by joint legal efforts by Jews and Muslims, no matter what the outcome of the litigation, it must send a chill through a growing German Jewish community that has come to think of itself as immune to the dangers presented by the country’s past. They may be learning that in spite of the country’s advances, anti-Semitism never goes completely out of fashion in Germany.
jewish palestinian genocide, jewish genital mutilation, so what's new?
Palestinian daily rockets fired at Jewish homes — oops, that isn't new either. As for circumcision, too bad you don't read the bible. It's commanded by God. n nOh, one other thing isn't new. Anti-Semitic idiots. They're 2,000 years old.
what about when paul states that circumcision is no longer necessary because of jesus, though?
Lemonade, Paul of course was a fervent Jew and was circumcised. As an early convert to following Christ, he followed Jesus' instruction to not incorporate a necessity of circumcision upon Gentile converts to Christ. Circumcision was a covenant sign between the Father and His People. As you must know, many Christians chose circumcision, and it became tradition for many Gentile Christians. I am a Christian, and am appalled that a court would characterize an absolute necessity of covenant faith for Jews, as illegal or abusive. As for Ignatius and his revisionist ideas, let him peddle them in any village of indigenous and delightfully primitive people and take his lumps. I am a woman from an uncircumcised paternal Christian line, but chose circumcision after the father of my children, gladly, and my boys (now men) are grateful for it. Rodger, please, I hope you do not equate the advent of a covenant with Christ as a spawn for hatred of Jews; in fact, there can be no Christian who does not love the Jews. A claim to Christ in a hating heart is a worse lie than the lie that cast us all from Paradise. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17. It is said that Jews and Muslims will work together to protect the command and covenant mark of circumcision. A genuine Christian, circumcised or otherwise, understands the purpose of this action, the bris, and holds it in respect. Jews do not NEED the support in this matter from Christians, but Christians must hold it out to their brothers. On secular note…Solomon's temple was fashioned, as all fine sculpture, by the careful carving away of stone to reveal a beauty within. To be sure, I am extremely glad I am a woman, but have a great appreciation of the fine result of the beauty of man marked by The Father's finishing touch at the hands of man. It was a Capital idea.
As far as Anti-semitic idiots go they are likely much older than 2000 years, at least 2012…But I ask how is a judge ruling on a Muslim baby who has had his penis mutilated by callous people anti-Semitic? Why because the judge was in Germany? As far as anyone mutilating a penis because it was written in a book over 2000 years ago this practise is simply ridiculous, would you let a doctor perform an operation according to a medical text book written in the 15th century? Only 400 years has past since the great medical minds of that day wrote extensively and yet of course you would not! n So why would anyone take a medical procedure like circumcision that can have serious health outcomes, as it did with the Muslim boy, and condone the practice? Because it is written in the Bible or Torah over 2000 years ago. These are the types of practises we have to let go and move away from in the same way we do not stone people to death any more! This response was written by a circumcised man!
what a maroon. how many anti-semites does it take to screw in a light bulb? two: one to screw it in and one to bend over. no. the light bulb never seems to work but…these are anti-semites we're talking about. oh wait, what do newly wed wives of anti-semites write on their tummies on their honeymoon? this side up. so an anti-semite wanders into the local Al Qaeda headquarters and says he wants to join the cause because of "jewish genital mutilation"–the two AQ recruiter guys take this in and then one turns to the other and says, "at least we've found someone to wear the underwear…"
Yes, all anti-semites are morons but so are Jews who think everything in the World is about them, find anti-semitism in everything they dislike and can't distinguish the really important from the trivial. This article and this entire thread are moronic.
Thank you!
I think most sensible Jews care more about the Dolphin submarines Germany has been selling to Israel (at a very substantial discount) than about this issue. Also, if this is what it takes to stem the growth of Islam in Western Europe ((an issue of far greater importance to Jews than the availability of kosher food or the attitude to circumscision) than I hope that more countries which face this problem, follow suit. nAnyway, Jews now have their own country, where they can circumcise their children freely; they no longer have to settle in countries like Germany, and it would be the height of folly for them get into a fight that would only hep their most dangerous enemies.
And Catholics have their own country. It's called the Vatican. Are you suggesting they no longer "have to" settle in other countries?
This circumcision ban by judicial fiat is just another instance of judges thinking themselves above the laws written by a democratic legislature. The fact that a judge ruled this way yet has lifetime tenure is more a cause for alarm than anything else.____And yes Lic, Jews care deeply about religious freedom for themselves and adherents of other religions. Germany has been a friend to Israel since the 1950s but that doesn't reduce the alarm we feel about this disgusting judicial fiat.
The judges ruled the way they did BECAUSE of the German Basic Law (~Constitution) written by a democratic legislature, which guarantees bodily integrity. This is not about Jews (the case involved a Muslim child) but about protecting children from non-consented permanent bodily alteration. It would cover the kind of whimsical infant circumcision they do to a (small) majority of babies in the US – and nowhere else in the developed world – but that is already almost unknown in Germany.
I guess there's more than one way to create a Judenrein Deutchland. When the numbers get small enough, no gas chambers are required. But the intent remains the same..
Well, the case involved a Muslim child but obviously they must have been thinking about Jews. After all they are Germans and what else do Germans ever think about?
Not only is a ban on a circumcision a religious issue, but it is also a parenting issue. n nIf a court can decide that the circumcision is illegal, why stop there? Let's have courts dictate how parents care for their children in personal hygiene; doctor's appointment and the application of medicines; exposure to sunshine (with or without sunscreen); if and when to seek therapy for children; and the list goes on. n nThere was a time when parents were seen by society as the best and foremost guardians of their children. Parents were taken seriously and they, in turn, took their responsibility to their children seriously. This case is another step to transfer parental responsibility to the state and the courts. It's not only an example of the state limiting religious freedom, but of the state limiting parental freedom.
It is not about transferring parental responsibility to the state, but about leaving the choice to the individual. Circumcision is not a crime in Germany, what this ruling said was just that everybody has to decide for himself. Thus, it strengthens the rights and freedom of the individual.
This is not about transferring parental responsibility to the state, this ruling enables the individual to decide about his circumcision. Thus, it stregthens the individual and religious freedom. Circumcision is not illegal in Germany – and won't be – that is not what this rule is about.
This has nothing to do with parenting and everything to do with religious hatred. Parenting is just the excuse used by cowards.
You are kidding right, you are contending that the mutilation of the boys penis is somehow in step with applying sunscreen to a toddler???? It is people like you that are out of step with reality, perhaps circumcision was a relevant thing to nomads trekking through the desert 2000 years ago for the sake of cleanliness, but in today's society it is an irrelevant practice only kept up because of your outdated religious beliefs. As far as parents being seen as the best and foremost guardians of their children this is clearly a strong part of western civilisation, but perhaps this does not include chopping the skin of the boys penis off.
Don't forget Nip n' Tuck…often botched with unforseen consequences. nDon't forget "vaginal reconstruction" "prepuce replacement" "breast and penile enlargement" (hell! There are ADS for this stuff on late-night TV) nThis has nothing to do with human rights and wrongs. This is the vicious face of German Anti-semitism (Jew and Arab alike!) nPlus ca change Deutschland?
Those are all operations on consenting adults.
Finally a country is standing up for the basic human right of a human to keep all of his sensory system, all of his nerves, all of his blood vessels, protective covering and pleasure zones. n nOther countries should follow this lead. Baby boy penis parts removal should be considered illegal NOW in the United States under the 1996 federal law banning genital cutting — 14th Amendment equal protection clause. n nThose saying that preventing the cutting off of penis parts of a baby boy violates the cutter's freedom of religion, are way out there in irrational land. One's religion ends where their knife touches another human's body. The idea that another human's ritual (rite) trumps ones right to body parts is insane and creepy. Baby boy penis parts removal cuts off thousands of fine touch and stretch nerves. This is like disconnecting the fingertips, nipples or lips from the brain. No human should be subjected to sensory system harm as well as a forced decrease of sexual function and PLEASURE for life!
An irreversible surgical intervention – circumcision – is clearly a violation of the most basic of human rights. The only question raised by this court decision is why it has taken so long to reach it. __The evidence of psychological trauma caused by this – or any other – ablation is indisputable
No one will seriously challenge Muslim circumcision, let's just be honest about that. No one challenges honor killings.
This case was about a Muslim circumcision.
Immune? They think themselves immune? Isn't this what the German Jews thought eighty years ago? I sometimes wonder about my people. Are we deluded? Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is rampant throughout Western Europe and has been growing steadily in the past few years. I live in the US and I know that things have been heating up there for us. Just like I wonder why 78% plus of us are Democrats, I now wonder why we think we are immune to the new anti-Semitism? Sometimes I think that we could save everyone a lot of trouble if we just handed out guns to every one of us & we could shoot ourselves in the foot. Not really of course. But, that seems like what we are doing. We don't know who our friends are and we don't know our enemies, and it seems we don't even know when we're about to drown either. What's wrong with us?
Youre the only person on this thread who makes any sense. Jews have no place in Germany, period. And they are only making it more difficult for themselves by trying to fight a clearly anti-semitic government/court system there. This is far beyond issues of human rights, or religious rights as far as i am concerned.
The logic of the ruling was the Rights of Children. That such a decision as this would come shold be no surprise as Germany holds that such Rights begin with conception. We should be wary of the similar "fetal personhood" laws being promoted in the United States.
Germans will never change! The percentage of cannibals is highest among Germans as compared to the rest of Europe. Michael Lerman
This sounds like a ruling from the old communist East Germany! nSo how has it harmed Jews? nCircumcision has been a widespread medical practice in the US for many years, focused on health concerns, for most babies, Jewish, Christian, or Buddhist for that matter. My guess is that most of the US Army and Air Corps that defeated the Nazis in World War II were circumcised men.
Your guess is wrong. Circumcision was only starting to come into fashion (and that's the operative word) across the English-speaking world when those men were born. It peaked in the 1950s and died out everywhere but the USA – and there have been no outbreaks of any of the things it was supposed to be good against. The experiment is over. Infant circumcision has no benefit.
I doubt the court was being malicious, just historically illiterate and perhaps Teutonically zealous in forcing a principle to its loonily organic conclusion. n FWIW I'm surprised Mayor Bloomberg hasn't thought of it.
Bloomberg? You must be joking. He's the man who said it was OK for haredi mohelim to suck the blood from a newly circumcised baby's penis so long as they used Listerine – so several more babies have died of herpes since. But then, it WAS an election year.
circumcisions will be done in future at the Israeli embassy in germany , then it will not break any law,because technically it will be israeli soil. ni am sure the mohels and lawyers will find umpteen ways to thwart this law. n
On the bright side, isn’t it nice to see Jews and Muslims coming together?
The German courts should be applauded for standing up for the human rights of children. Circumcision is a barbaric Stone Age practice with no medical benefits whatsoever (no national medical association in the world recommends it), other than to soothe the ego's of men with mutilated penises. n nFreedom of religion is not absolute; otherwise there would still be goat sacrifices and stoning of women for adultery inside synagogues.
This argument is nonsense. n nAccording to its author, circumcision is "a ritual integral to Jewish identity". This is absurd on its face. HALF of the Jewish people (we call them 'women') are not circumcised. How can any ritual that excludes fully half of its members be integral to identity? n nIn the Soviet era, many thousands of Jewish boys were never circumcised. Why? To shield them from the anti-Semitism of that era. Were these boys any less Jewish? Of course not. It would be a disgrace to claim otherwise. Integral to their identity is faith, not foreskin. n nCircumcision is a barbaric, Bronze Age custom that has, when performed badly, injured many boys. In extreme cases, it has even led to gender reassignment surgery. Today, we perform it to treat phimosis. There is little else to commend it. I cannot imagine why decent people want to submit boys to such risk. n nRussian Jews who were never circumcised — for political reasons — are Jews by faith. And that is all that matters.
Good Job, it has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with protecting young boys from needless harm.
Since foreskins are desirable to practitioners of homosexual S&M and other degradation fetishes, and since it is no coincidence that the home of Nazism is also the epicenter of such practices, it comes as no surprise that Germany has now joined San Francisco, also an epicenter of S&M and degradation fetishes, in banning male circumcision. n nApart from the religious significance, It has been firmly established that circumcision facilitates male hygiene and health, exemplified most recently by the World Health Organization's strong position that male circumcision is an effective prophylaxis against AIDS. n nHence, the characterization of male circumcision — a completely different practice from female circumcision — as "mutilation" is a smoke screen to obscure the real motive behind such a ban: the promotion of depraved sexual behavior and its attendant æsthetic about penises.
Are you kidding? The apostle Paul himself in the bible called circumcision a mutilation. He asked why don't these people go all the way and emasculate themselves, and that's my attitude as well. n nI wish you didn't exaggerate, and outright lie. There are no real health benefits at all and you must know that but if you are hurt (as I was) then you can at least try to restore, grieve and become an intactivist. You can become a convert (like Paul was) on this issue. I wish you peace and wholeness, but I must oppose this writing of yours as utter drivel.
The German courts should be applauded for standing up for the human rights of children. Circumcision is a barbaric Stone Age practice with no medical benefits whatsoever (no national medical association in the world recommends it), other than to soothe the ego's of men with mutilated penises.
They kill babies in the womb, though full-formed, on the grounds that the mother wants to; how is circumcision different? nThey murder unborn children because a doctor certified that pregnancy is a danger to the mother's ife; how is circumcision different? nOh! No! One is "mutilation" of a living being for religious reasons (unacceptable, outrageous) while the other is murder upon demand (the norm!) nPlus ca change, Deutschland?
Wow. ever comment I read here was utterly retarded. Circumcision is definitely CHILD ABUSE – NOBODY has the right to carve their religions into other human beings.
I see the Jewish dwelling in post-Holocaust Germany as the act of the contempt toward the Jewish memory,so the acts of modern German anti-semitism add nothing.The idea of the conscious chose of the religion is worse of the discussion even for the Jews.
coltakashi says: >”My guess is that most of the US Army and Air Corps that defeated the Nazis in World War II were circumcised men.”r nr nYour guess is wrong. The Nazis were not defeated by the US at all, they were defeated by the Red Army of the Soviet Union, which was predominantly uncircumcised.r nr nYou should read history, not nationalist propaganda.
It does raise the interesting issue of Female Genital Mutilation, intended to make sexual intercourse so painful to a woman that she avoids it and hence doesn't "dishonor" her family with unplanned pregnancies. In many countries, Islam is interpreted to justify/require this rather barbaric practice. n nHow does Germany (or America) legitimately forbid this within the context of the concerns raised by Mr. Tobin and others?
Jews living in Germany – what the hell is wrong with you people??? Havent we learned our lessons?? We now have the land of Israel, where you can practice your religion freely and circumsize whomever you want. Why would you choose to go back to a land where you're clearly not welcome? nAnti-semitism is alive and well, and guess what – former nazis who were "only fulfilling orders" are also still alive and probably have active roles in their local governments. Theres a much bigger issue here than human rights, or the health of a baby. Is this a coincedence that this happens in GERMANY of all places?! Ugh, utterly disgusting. But quite honestly – if youre a jew living there, its your own stupid fault.
Oooh, this magazine threw down the gauntlet, played the holocaust card. As an American, who is now in Germany about to start teaching English, who has a German half-jewish gf (not religious), who has taught English in Turkey, a muslim country, and who has been circumcised (and resents it) I think I am qualified to speak on the subject. n nThe first thing I want to do is give advice: Stop obsessing over baby boy's foreskins! Keep your knives away from babies penises. n nI want to say that some people in this movement may be anti-semitic or whatever, and hate the religions of Judaism and Islam, these movements are about protecting babies from harm. They are not about Anti-anything except anti-genital mutilation. You are insinuating people like me or many of the other good workers here, or the judge, just hates your cultures or religions. Well I hate them too, especially as you fight against truth and justice, but if you stopped mutilating your boys, I would love them, because I love religions of peace and truth. n nI think that as long as there is genital mutilation there will always be holocausts and pogroms. I am not condoning those, but that's what I think is a fact, because that is what us 'gentiles' are horrified by. As a circumcised male of gentile Christians from the midwest, I am angry that many people, of many backgrounds, a significant number of them who were of Jewish background, went to the trouble to prove that circumcision was 'beneficial' or 'painless' or whatever,, justifying it with fancy words, and that helped lead to my mutilation. In a way you can say I hate orthodox judaism because Orthodox Judaism has hated me, and my love organ. n nBy the way all you people, if you have been mutilated and you simply must accept it a good, because you can't change it.. well I have news for you. You can try to 'restore' your foreskin through stretching and tugging, 100 percent natural, which is what I am doing. Google it. n nCircumcision is not even found in the Quran, and the circ practiced today by Judaism is not what is found in the bible, but is just tradition of Rabbis in the years after Christ. They added to the law to make it harder for Jews in the Roman Empire to 'epispasm' or pull back the foreskin over their penis. So I have even more reason for hating this religion. Love the people, hate the culture or religion that would do this. They honor YHWH with their lips, but their hearts are far from him. n nFunny how so many Jews are non practicing, eating pork, not observing the Sabbath, nothing. But they MUST circumcise their baby. n nI feel invalidated in my grief, my sexual experience, my emotional experience, my beliefs, everything, by your defense of this practice. You have the right to your opinions I suppose but I take them as threats and invalidations and they almost come across to me as emotional abuse, since this is a subject I am sensitive about. Hey, why can't we just be human! Why do we have to play these games and confound ideas. I am not out to destroy religion, except to the extent religion is out to destroy foreskins. Then I admit it. But that's not what this movement is about, for the most part. Sure there may be neo-nazis jumping on the bandwagon, but Germans are tired of being called Nazis. Keep occupying the palestinian homeland. Keep calling the kettle black. Can we just say that all violence is wrong- and that includes violence against the penis which the baby can feel as pain? Does anybody bother to put into practice the gospel of peace? Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. But sometimes peace must come with a (non literal) sword, the sword of truth. n nI haven't even talked about religious freedom of the baby. You don't seem to care about the freedom of babies to decide if they want to be Jewish or not. You don't listen to your own Jewish dissenters such as people who wrote books against circ, made documentaries against circ, started Brit Shalom, etc. So I am as much anti-semitic as these Jews! Haha. You would deny them religious freedom in as much as babies might want to believe like they do when they're older and hate having been circumcised. I am all for religious freedom, when it is nonviolent. Stop pretending you havn't read a single study on the negative effects of circumcision. Stop pretending that bloody penises and exposed glans are the norm. And again if you are a victim and don't see a way out, but to join in the process of mutilation, remember, there is one- it's called restoration. It takes time but everybody says it's worth it. This article is a laughing stock. If it was on paper it would make good toilet paper perhaps but nothing else. n n n
Because FGC is already illegal – no matter how minor, surgical, sterile and anaesthetised.