The ABC Homeopathy Forum
Reuters: Jewish "intactivists" in U.S. stop circumcising..........
Published in TABLET, A NEW READ ON JEWISH LIFE, March, 2011From Foreplay, By Michelle Goldberg
'Most Swedish doctors refuse to perform the cut, seeing it as a violation of a childs rights, and some politicians want to ban it for children under 18. Last year, the Royal Dutch Medical Association put out a statement calling for a powerful policy of deterrence, arguing, Non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors conflicts with the childs right to autonomy and physical integrity.
Some progressive Jews are turning their backs on it as well, embracing an alternative ceremony known as a brit shalom. Reiss runs a website that lists rabbis and cantors nationwide who will preside over the ritual, and he is about to officiate at one for the first time ( http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html ). Its happening more frequently as the generic population in the United States circumcises less, he says. Nor is this an entirely new phenomenon. As he points out, Jews have been rebelling against ritual circumcision for centuries. In Germany in the mid-19th century, there was a group of reform rabbis who wrote papers on it.
As the practice falls out of favor in the secular world, the circumcision wars will probably only get more heated, because theyll be about a minority religious custom, not an American norm. If male circumcision comes to be seen as harmful, after all, it will be hard to justify it on religious grounds alone without also justifying less-invasive variants of female genital cutting. At that point, proposals like the one in San Francisco might seem less preposterous and more, well, cutting edge.'
- Foreplay, By Michelle Goldberg
Tablet, A New Read on Jewish Life, Mar 3, 2011
A Jewish mother writes...
'As a Jewish person and a circumcision opponent, I support the efforts of San Franciscans to ban circumcision. Their work is bringing this important human rights affront to the national stage.'
- Rebecca Wald, J.D., Jewish Mother and Intactivist Activist
http://www.beyondthebris.com/2011/05/my-take-on-san-francisc....
THE FORWARD, THE JEWISH DAILY, MAY 20, 2011
Outlawing Circumcision: Good for the Jews?
By Eli Ungar-Sargon
May 20, 2011
http://www.forward.com/articles/137577/
The Bris on the Ballot
A San Francisco ballot initiative that would outlaw infant circumcision is gaining momentum.
Eli Ungar-Sargon is an independent filmmaker who grew up in an Orthodox home. His first film, Cut, was about circumcision and Jewish identity.
The subject of circumcision is often relegated to the realm of jokes and cheeky double-entendres, but a San Francisco ballot initiative now gaining momentum would ban the practice, and it raises some very serious issues. At the heart of the current controversy are three fundamental questions. First, is circumcising an infant wrong? Second, should infant circumcision be against the law? And third, would banning circumcision infringe on the rights of those who practice it as part of their religions?
The answer to the first question is relatively straightforward. Though practiced by Jews for thousands of years and more recently adopted in the United States for its purported health benefits, infant circumcision is an ethically problematic act. By surgically removing the most sensitive part of the penis, we permanently alter a persons sexual experience and we do so without their consent. The argument that we ought to circumcise babies for health reasons is very weak. Consider an analogous situation: If all women had one breast surgically removed, we could probably reduce the incidence of breast cancser in this country. This is clearly not a sufficient reason to implement such a drastic measure and neither are the claimed health benefits of circumcision.
The answer to the second question is not as clear. Not all ethically problematic behaviors need to be criminalized. For example, sleeping with your wifes sister may be unethical, but it hardly warrants a law prohibiting the behavior. Proponents of the ballot measure often point out that female circumcision is illegal in the U.S., while male circumcision is practiced routinely. The comparison between female and male circumcision may seem outrageous at first, but upon closer inspection, it is actually reasonable. Female circumcision is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of practices, some of which are less severe than male circumcision. Contrary to common belief, most forms of female circumcision do not completely eliminate a womans ability to feel sexual pleasure, yet any form of female genital cutting, even something as minor as a ritual nick to the hood of the clitoris, is illegal in the United States. The comparison to female circumcision is useful in so far as it helps to uncover a cultural bias that has yielded a legal double standard in the U.S. But understanding this inconsistency doesnt get us any closer to answering the second question. The law prohibiting female circumcision might be as unnecessary as the proposed ban on male circumcision.
Nevertheless, one of the states primary responsibilities is to protect its citizens. And by allowing parents to permanently alter the bodies of their children, the state is failing to protect its most vulnerable citizens from bodily harm. It seems reasonable to draw a legal line when it comes to body modifications that have life-long consequences.
To answer the third question, I will focus on the Jewish community, as my knowledge of Islam is insufficient to do that community justice. I would argue that a clear majority of American Jews do not circumcise their sons out of a sense of religious obligation, but rather as a means of ethnic identification. These people mostly have it done in the hospital by medical staff rather than a mohel, which, ironically, means that their sons do not and cannot have an actual religious brit milah. Criminalizing circumcision would not infringe on this groups religious rights, as they are not doing it for religious reasons. But there are religious American Jews who circumcise their boys out of a sense of religious obligation. These Jews can be divided into two groups: the fundamentalists and the non-fundamentalists. The former are a sub-group of Orthodox Jews who believe that our human understanding of ethics should not play a role in shaping Jewish law and practice. A ban on circumcision would indeed infringe on their right to practice their faith as they see fit. The human right to body integrity would, in this instance, override their religious right.
On the other hand, non-fundamentalist Jews, who constitute a very large number of Reform, Conservative, and even some Orthodox Jews, believe that human ethics are an essential element in the Jewish tradition. If my answer to the first question is correct, then there is a Jewish tradition practiced by virtually all Jewish parents today that is morally wrong. This should give pause to any non-fundamentalist religious Jew, and it is a black eye for the liberal movements that they have not taken this issue more seriously. Perhaps a law prohibiting circumcision is just what these Jews need to start a serious discussion about the problem of brit milah.
Eli Ungar-Sargon is an independent filmmaker who grew up in an Orthodox home. His first film, Cut, was about circumcision and Jewish identity.
- Outlawing Circumcision: Good for the Jews?
By Eli Ungar-Sargon
The Forward, The Jewish Daily, May 06, 2011, issue of May 20, 2011.
http://www.forward.com/articles/137577/
[message edited by Homeopathy International 1 on Fri, 20 May 2011 22:44:10 BST]
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This is just a forum. Assume posts are not from medical professionals.
Rabbi Nathan Segal writes...
'I believe circumcision is a major mistake...The code of the Jewish law is called 'halacha' (the way). Within the Code, there is a provision that if a mother looses a son because of circumcision, she is NOT obligated to circumcise her next son. I extrapolate from this, the inter-connection of my human family, that enough deaths and maiming have occured because of circumcision. Therefore - circumcision is no longer a requisite! Just as we no longer practice the animal sacrifices in the traditional temple, so let us not sacrifice an important piece of our mammal in the temple of tradition. '
- Rabbi Natan Segal, 2007
Rabbi of Shabbos Shul, Marin County, California, U.S.A.
Ordination: 1977 Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Yeshiva B'nai Or Philadelphia, Pa.
A Jewish mother writes...
'As a Jewish person and a circumcision opponent, I support the efforts of San Franciscans to ban circumcision. Their work is bringing this important human rights affront to the national stage.'
- Rebecca Wald, J.D., Jewish Mother and Intactivist Activist
http://www.beyondthebris.com/2011/05/my-take-on-san-francisc....
A Jewish mother and educator writes...
'We must envision a Judaism that can welcome all of our children, nonviolently, into the brit b'lee milah, a covenant without circumcision... Ultimately, we all must know that it is not possible to violate or suppress the sexuality of one gender without doing harm to the other. Opposing circumcision is men's work; but it is also most profoundly, women's work. Our babies know and we know: it begins with us. '
- Miriam Pollack, Jewish Women Speak Out
http://www.noharmm.org/pollack.htm
Norm Cohen writes...
'Religious circumcision is the only religious ritual that involves cutting away part of another persons body. The fact that this other person is a child who has not consented has made this practice a cause for concern by childrens rights activists everywhere.'
- Norm Cohen, creator of one of the most prevelant Brit Shalom (covenant without cutting) ceremonies.
http://www.nocircofmi.org/BrisShalom.pdf
Jewish Nurses in NM, USA refuse to circumcise babies...
'Twenty-four of the approximately 30 nurses at St. Vincent Hospital who would normally assist with infant circumcisions formed a group of professional conscientious objectors, including all of the Jewish maternity nurses. Since that time, additional nurses have joined the group as their awareness of the issue has evolved. In an April 4, 1994 letter to the editor of the American Journal of Nursing, nurses Betty Katz Sperlich and Mary Conant stated:'
'We struggled with the ethical dilemma of botched circumcisions and unconcerned physicians at our hospital. The more we educated ourselves, the more we came to the conclusion that every circumcision is a botch job, since it is an assault on a child's sexuality and a violation of a child's right to an intact body. We now focus our efforts on educating parents. How sweet it is to live our ethics. We encourage other nurses to join us.'
- Nurses of St. Vincent, Fireball Films, 1994
http://www.circumcisionvideos.com/nsv.htm
THE FORWARD, THE JEWISH DAILY, MAY 20, 2011
Outlawing Circumcision: Good for the Jews?
By Eli Ungar-Sargon
May 20, 2011
http://www.forward.com/articles/137577/
The Bris on the Ballot
A San Francisco ballot initiative that would outlaw infant circumcision is gaining momentum.
Eli Ungar-Sargon is an independent filmmaker who grew up in an Orthodox home. His first film, Cut, was about circumcision and Jewish identity.
The subject of circumcision is often relegated to the realm of jokes and cheeky double-entendres, but a San Francisco ballot initiative now gaining momentum would ban the practice, and it raises some very serious issues. At the heart of the current controversy are three fundamental questions. First, is circumcising an infant wrong? Second, should infant circumcision be against the law? And third, would banning circumcision infringe on the rights of those who practice it as part of their religions?
The answer to the first question is relatively straightforward. Though practiced by Jews for thousands of years and more recently adopted in the United States for its purported health benefits, infant circumcision is an ethically problematic act. By surgically removing the most sensitive part of the penis, we permanently alter a persons sexual experience and we do so without their consent. The argument that we ought to circumcise babies for health reasons is very weak. Consider an analogous situation: If all women had one breast surgically removed, we could probably reduce the incidence of breast cancser in this country. This is clearly not a sufficient reason to implement such a drastic measure and neither are the claimed health benefits of circumcision.
The answer to the second question is not as clear. Not all ethically problematic behaviors need to be criminalized. For example, sleeping with your wifes sister may be unethical, but it hardly warrants a law prohibiting the behavior. Proponents of the ballot measure often point out that female circumcision is illegal in the U.S., while male circumcision is practiced routinely. The comparison between female and male circumcision may seem outrageous at first, but upon closer inspection, it is actually reasonable. Female circumcision is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of practices, some of which are less severe than male circumcision. Contrary to common belief, most forms of female circumcision do not completely eliminate a womans ability to feel sexual pleasure, yet any form of female genital cutting, even something as minor as a ritual nick to the hood of the clitoris, is illegal in the United States. The comparison to female circumcision is useful in so far as it helps to uncover a cultural bias that has yielded a legal double standard in the U.S. But understanding this inconsistency doesnt get us any closer to answering the second question. The law prohibiting female circumcision might be as unnecessary as the proposed ban on male circumcision.
Nevertheless, one of the states primary responsibilities is to protect its citizens. And by allowing parents to permanently alter the bodies of their children, the state is failing to protect its most vulnerable citizens from bodily harm. It seems reasonable to draw a legal line when it comes to body modifications that have life-long consequences.
To answer the third question, I will focus on the Jewish community, as my knowledge of Islam is insufficient to do that community justice. I would argue that a clear majority of American Jews do not circumcise their sons out of a sense of religious obligation, but rather as a means of ethnic identification. These people mostly have it done in the hospital by medical staff rather than a mohel, which, ironically, means that their sons do not and cannot have an actual religious brit milah. Criminalizing circumcision would not infringe on this groups religious rights, as they are not doing it for religious reasons. But there are religious American Jews who circumcise their boys out of a sense of religious obligation. These Jews can be divided into two groups: the fundamentalists and the non-fundamentalists. The former are a sub-group of Orthodox Jews who believe that our human understanding of ethics should not play a role in shaping Jewish law and practice. A ban on circumcision would indeed infringe on their right to practice their faith as they see fit. The human right to body integrity would, in this instance, override their religious right.
On the other hand, non-fundamentalist Jews, who constitute a very large number of Reform, Conservative, and even some Orthodox Jews, believe that human ethics are an essential element in the Jewish tradition. If my answer to the first question is correct, then there is a Jewish tradition practiced by virtually all Jewish parents today that is morally wrong. This should give pause to any non-fundamentalist religious Jew, and it is a black eye for the liberal movements that they have not taken this issue more seriously. Perhaps a law prohibiting circumcision is just what these Jews need to start a serious discussion about the problem of brit milah.
Eli Ungar-Sargon is an independent filmmaker who grew up in an Orthodox home. His first film, Cut, was about circumcision and Jewish identity.
- Outlawing Circumcision: Good for the Jews?
By Eli Ungar-Sargon
The Forward, The Jewish Daily, May 06, 2011, issue of May 20, 2011.
http://www.forward.com/articles/137577/
___________________________________________________________________
Israeli Related Links: (In Hebrew)
___________________________________________________________________
> Kahal / Intact Israelis' Parents' Rights Group (Israel, in Hebrew) <
> http://www.kahal.org <
> Israeli Association Against Genital Mutilation (Israel, in Hebrew) <
> http://www.britmila.org.il <
___________________________________________________________________
Related Links: (In English)
> Jews Opposing Circumcision: Conservative, Orthodox, Reform and More (Israel, Uk, USA) <
> http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org <
> By Moshe Rothenberg, MSW. Ending Circumcision In The Jewish Community (Israel, UK, USA) <
> http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/rothenberg.html <
> *Brit B'lee Milah & Bris Shalom: Alternative Non-Circumcision Rituals (Israel, UK, USA) <
> http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html <
> One Rabbi Speaks Out Against Circumcision, 2007 (Israel, UK, CA) <
> http://www.rabbinathan.com/writings/circum.shtml <
> Paul M. Fleiss, MD., The Case Against Circumcision (UK) <
> http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/fleiss.html <
> by Lisa Braver Moss, Jewish Roots of Anti-Circumcision Arguments (UK, USA)<
> http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/moss.html <
> Jewish Women Speak Out: Miriam Pollack (UK) <
> http://www.noharmm.org/pollack.htm <
UK Jews Stop Circumcising
'I am calm and comfortable in the knowledge that no one will ever take a knife to this baby's flesh in the name of religion, and that my child will be every bit as Jewish as I am, or as Jewish as s/he chooses to be, with no mutilating mark upon the body. I am confident that my people have such an abundance of life-enhancing, life-affirming and mind-opening traditions, that our identity and sense of cultural self-heed will happily survive our outgrowing of circumcision, a cruel relic which has always felt to me like an aberration at the heart of my religion.'
- Dr. Jenny Goodman, Challenging Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective
http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/fourth/goodman.html
___________________________________________________________________
'many Jews reject a brit milla as an archaic and barbaric ritual'
'Coming from a European background... where many Jews reject a brit milla as an archaic and barbaric ritual... This author grew up in France in a traditional Jewish family. Not a single male of her generation or her children's generation within her large family (or in her circle of Jewish friends) was ever circumcised.'
- Nelly Karsenty, Humanistic Judaism, 1988; 16(3): 14-20.
___________________________________________________________________
Jews Opposing Circumcision: Conservative, Orthodox, Traditional Reform and More (Israel, Uk, USA)
'Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come; it is time to stop circumcision whatever have been the reasons and/or distresses that have perpetuated it.'
- Moshe Rothenberg, MSW.
Moshe Rothenberg, CSW, is a social worker for the New York City Board of Education. He received his MSW in Social Group Work at Yeshiva University - Wurzweiler School of Social Work (1973) and did post-graduate work in group and family therapy at Albert Einstein School of Medicine. Mr. Rothenberg initiated and coordinated two parent groups providing advocacy and counseling services for the Miskon-Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services in New York. He is an educator on the subject of Brit B'lee Milah both within and outside of the Jewish community in which he lives.
'a barbarous and primitive act that must be banished foreverand quickly.'
'This phenomenon is getting public attention, perhaps for the first time, after the establishment of the Association Against Genital Mutilation ( http://www.britmila.org.il ). The organization was founded by human rights activists who see the Brit Milah as a barbarous and primitive act that must be banished foreverand quickly.
Movements against circumcision have appeared recently in the US and in Europe, claiming that it must be banned not only because it is barbaric, but also because it is harmful to health. One study found that the pain treshold of baby boys who underwent circumcision was lower than that of boys who were not circumcised. Many more boys die from circumcision than from genital infections, claims one of the organizations founders, Rafi Rozen from Eilat.
The organization counts in its midtst tens of activists, among them parents who chose not to circumcise their sons. The members meet every other week and exchange ideas and opinions. They plan to be more active in the future, going to centers for natural birth to try to convince parents not to circumcise their sons.
Jonathan and Limor Enosh from Tel Aviv have been convinced already. They gave birth three months ago to their son Tzof and decided to spare him from Brit Milah. For a long time my wife and I were opposed to circumcision, thinking it was a cruel and painful act, says Jonathan.
I told our families that whoever believes that the Brit makes a child Jewish is wrong, tells a woman from Jerusalem whose two sons, ages 7 and 14, were not circumcised. There is no need to cut off anything to be Jewish. I decided not to take part in a deed that could lead to long-term mental trauma and physical harm, as well as reducing their pleasure in bed.
- Itamar Eichner, Yediot (Israel) - May 6, 1997
___________________________________________________________________
An Orthodox Rabbi Speaks Out Against Circumcision Surgery
'Circumcision is not a guarantee of Jewishness. And yes, you can be Jewish with a foreskin.'
- Rabbi Natan Segal
Rabbi Natan Segal, Rabbi of Shabbos Shul, the Shul of Marin County, Marin County, California, U.S.A.
Ordination: 1977 Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Yeshiva B'nai Or Philadelphia, Pa.
___________________________________________________________________
'Nancy Wainer is one such mother. When her son was born 34 years ago, Wainer and her husband had him ritually circumcised. She has regretted it ever since. 'I can still hear his cries,' she said. 'He cried for hours. He was inconsolable.' Now, as a midwife in Massachusetts, Wainer advises mothers to leave their sons' foreskins intact.'
- Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh - May 24, 2007
___________________________________________________________________
'Yes to a party, but no to a brit.'
Ynet Jewish World, 2008
Yes to a party, but no to a brit....the decision to give it a pass is becoming increasingly trendy in Israel.
'I've managed to stand up to the religious, overbearing establishment,' is an old, familiar motto. Only this time, instead of getting married in Cyprus or holding a non-religious funeral at a kibbutz, we've decided to keep the boy in one piece, without performing 'barbaric' incisions in his body. What's wrong with that? We have here caring, well-informed parents who are unwilling to swallow every nonsensical argument that an over-zealous circumciser tries to shove down their throat at the neonatal ward.
And even I, a mitzvah observing person, don't have a problem with the ever-rising number of uncircumcised Israelis.
- Tali Farkash. It just doesn't cut it. YNET Jewish World, 2008.
___________________________________________________________________
Jewish 'intactivists' in U.S. stop circumcising
'NEW YORK (Reuters) - In most respects, Michelle Chernikoff Anderson is a rabbi's dream congregant....like an increasing number of Jews in the United States, she has decided not to circumcise her son, rejecting the traditional notion... 'I see circumcision as a blood ritual that I can let go of,' said Anderson, who lives in Southern California.... At the Jewish Circumcision Resource Center in Boston, director [Dr.] Ron Goldman maintains a list of 400 names of Jews who refuse to circumcise their sons.'
- Jewish 'intactivists' in U.S. stop circumcising, REUTERS, 2007.
___________________________________________________________________
'the circumcision of helpless, non-consenting babies becomes forbidden'
'Jewish law is an evolving process that has always taken into account new developments in science and understanding, and attempted to integrate them. Given what is known about life-threatening complications of neonatal circumcision, there is an argument from within Judaism to adapt Jewish law, so that the circumcision of helpless, non-consenting babies becomes forbidden, not demanded.'
- Dr. Jenny Goodman
Jewish circumcision: an alternative perspective. BJU Int 1999; 83 Suppl 1:22-27.
http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/goodman1999/
___________________________________________________________________
Jews Opposing Circumcision: Conservative, Orthodox, Traditional, Reform and More (Israel, Uk, USA)
'I am confident that my people have such an abundance of life-enhancing, life-affirming and mind-opening traditions, that our identity and sense of cultural self-heed will happily survive our outgrowing of circumcision, a cruel relic which has always felt to me like an aberration at the heart of my religion.'
- Dr. Jenny Goodman
Challenging Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective
http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/goodman.html
___________________________________________________________________
Jews Opposing Circumcision: Conservative, Orthodox, Reform and More (Israel, Uk, USA)
'Judaism is a fluid religion that has been subject to change as it meets challenges and reaches new and better understandings. This is shown with the advent of non-traditional ceremonies, like Bat Mitzvah, and other significant changes to advance the roles of females including the ordination of women rabbis, chazzans and shamases.'
- Jews Against Circumcision (USA)
http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org
___________________________________________________________________
'If compassion in all its fullness were applied to 8-day-old babies, circumcision would become impossible.'
'In Judaism, and in Islam, the human being is considered to be made in the image of God, and God is conceptualized as perfect. So one could not argue that interfering with Gods perfect creation is a form of blasphemy. In Judaism there is a law of Shmirat Ha Guf, the guarding or protecting of the body. Body-piercing, tattooing and amputation are all forbidden for this reason. Further, there is the Talmudic concept of Tsaar baalei chayyim, compassion for all living creatures. If compassion in all its fullness were applied to 8-day-old babies, circumcision would become impossible.'
http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/goodman1999/
- Dr. Jenny Goodman
Jewish circumcision: an alternative perspective. British Journal of Urology Internation 1999; 83 Suppl 1:22-27.
___________________________________________________________________
'Jewish law specifically forbids body modification'
'Within the Jewish community, there is growing disagreement about circumcision. Some feel that circumcision contradicts other aspects of the Jewish religion. The Torah forbids the torture or causing of pain to any living creature, especially physically assaulting or harming another person (Exodus 21:18-27). Jewish law specifically forbids body modification, including the cutting or marking of the human body (Lev. 19:28). Jews are also required to help those who are helpless, such as newborn infants, and are exempt from performing religious duties that would cause harm to others.' - Ryan McAllister, Ph.D.
___________________________________________________________________
'many Jews reject a brit milla as an archaic and barbaric ritual'
'Coming from a European background... where many Jews reject a brit milla as an archaic and barbaric ritual... This author grew up in France in a traditional Jewish family. Not a single male of her generation or her children's generation within her large family (or in her circle of Jewish friends) was ever circumcised.'
- Nelly Karsenty, Humanistic Judaism, 1988; 16(3): 14-20.
___________________________________________________________________
Nobel Prize Winner In Medicine
I should like to suggest to my fellow Jews that perhaps the time has come to redeem the foreskin itself, rather than sacrifice it. Surely some substitute might be found for this rite, ... that would be preferable to this assault upon and mutilation of a newborn infant...'
- Professor George Wald, M.D
___________________________________________________________________
Israeli Related Links: (In Hebrew)
___________________________________________________________________
> Kahal / Intact Israelis' Parents' Rights Group (Israel, in Hebrew) <
> http://www.kahal.org <
> Israeli Association Against Genital Mutilation (Israel, in Hebrew) <
> http://www.britmila.org.il <
___________________________________________________________________
Related Links: (In English)
> Jews Opposing Circumcision: Conservative, Orthodox, Reform and More (Israel, Uk, USA) <
> http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org <
> By Moshe Rothenberg, MSW. Ending Circumcision In The Jewish Community (Israel, UK, USA) <
> http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/rothenberg.html <
> *Brit B'lee Milah & Bris Shalom: Alternative Non-Circumcision Rituals (Israel, UK, USA) <
> http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html <
> One Rabbi Speaks Out Against Circumcision, 2007 (Israel, UK, CA) <
> http://www.rabbinathan.com/writings/circum.shtml <
> Intactivism in Islam (CO.) <
>
http://www.coloradonocirc.org/files/handouts/Islam_and_Circu.... <
> by Lisa Braver Moss, Jewish Roots of Anti-Circumcision Arguments (UK, USA)<
> http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/moss.html <
> Jewish Women Speak Out: Miriam Pollack (UK) <
> http://www.noharmm.org/pollack.htm
'I believe circumcision is a major mistake...The code of the Jewish law is called 'halacha' (the way). Within the Code, there is a provision that if a mother looses a son because of circumcision, she is NOT obligated to circumcise her next son. I extrapolate from this, the inter-connection of my human family, that enough deaths and maiming have occured because of circumcision. Therefore - circumcision is no longer a requisite! Just as we no longer practice the animal sacrifices in the traditional temple, so let us not sacrifice an important piece of our mammal in the temple of tradition. '
- Rabbi Natan Segal, 2007
Rabbi of Shabbos Shul, Marin County, California, U.S.A.
Ordination: 1977 Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Yeshiva B'nai Or Philadelphia, Pa.
A Jewish mother writes...
'As a Jewish person and a circumcision opponent, I support the efforts of San Franciscans to ban circumcision. Their work is bringing this important human rights affront to the national stage.'
- Rebecca Wald, J.D., Jewish Mother and Intactivist Activist
http://www.beyondthebris.com/2011/05/my-take-on-san-francisc....
A Jewish mother and educator writes...
'We must envision a Judaism that can welcome all of our children, nonviolently, into the brit b'lee milah, a covenant without circumcision... Ultimately, we all must know that it is not possible to violate or suppress the sexuality of one gender without doing harm to the other. Opposing circumcision is men's work; but it is also most profoundly, women's work. Our babies know and we know: it begins with us. '
- Miriam Pollack, Jewish Women Speak Out
http://www.noharmm.org/pollack.htm
Norm Cohen writes...
'Religious circumcision is the only religious ritual that involves cutting away part of another persons body. The fact that this other person is a child who has not consented has made this practice a cause for concern by childrens rights activists everywhere.'
- Norm Cohen, creator of one of the most prevelant Brit Shalom (covenant without cutting) ceremonies.
http://www.nocircofmi.org/BrisShalom.pdf
Jewish Nurses in NM, USA refuse to circumcise babies...
'Twenty-four of the approximately 30 nurses at St. Vincent Hospital who would normally assist with infant circumcisions formed a group of professional conscientious objectors, including all of the Jewish maternity nurses. Since that time, additional nurses have joined the group as their awareness of the issue has evolved. In an April 4, 1994 letter to the editor of the American Journal of Nursing, nurses Betty Katz Sperlich and Mary Conant stated:'
'We struggled with the ethical dilemma of botched circumcisions and unconcerned physicians at our hospital. The more we educated ourselves, the more we came to the conclusion that every circumcision is a botch job, since it is an assault on a child's sexuality and a violation of a child's right to an intact body. We now focus our efforts on educating parents. How sweet it is to live our ethics. We encourage other nurses to join us.'
- Nurses of St. Vincent, Fireball Films, 1994
http://www.circumcisionvideos.com/nsv.htm
THE FORWARD, THE JEWISH DAILY, MAY 20, 2011
Outlawing Circumcision: Good for the Jews?
By Eli Ungar-Sargon
May 20, 2011
http://www.forward.com/articles/137577/
The Bris on the Ballot
A San Francisco ballot initiative that would outlaw infant circumcision is gaining momentum.
Eli Ungar-Sargon is an independent filmmaker who grew up in an Orthodox home. His first film, Cut, was about circumcision and Jewish identity.
The subject of circumcision is often relegated to the realm of jokes and cheeky double-entendres, but a San Francisco ballot initiative now gaining momentum would ban the practice, and it raises some very serious issues. At the heart of the current controversy are three fundamental questions. First, is circumcising an infant wrong? Second, should infant circumcision be against the law? And third, would banning circumcision infringe on the rights of those who practice it as part of their religions?
The answer to the first question is relatively straightforward. Though practiced by Jews for thousands of years and more recently adopted in the United States for its purported health benefits, infant circumcision is an ethically problematic act. By surgically removing the most sensitive part of the penis, we permanently alter a persons sexual experience and we do so without their consent. The argument that we ought to circumcise babies for health reasons is very weak. Consider an analogous situation: If all women had one breast surgically removed, we could probably reduce the incidence of breast cancser in this country. This is clearly not a sufficient reason to implement such a drastic measure and neither are the claimed health benefits of circumcision.
The answer to the second question is not as clear. Not all ethically problematic behaviors need to be criminalized. For example, sleeping with your wifes sister may be unethical, but it hardly warrants a law prohibiting the behavior. Proponents of the ballot measure often point out that female circumcision is illegal in the U.S., while male circumcision is practiced routinely. The comparison between female and male circumcision may seem outrageous at first, but upon closer inspection, it is actually reasonable. Female circumcision is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of practices, some of which are less severe than male circumcision. Contrary to common belief, most forms of female circumcision do not completely eliminate a womans ability to feel sexual pleasure, yet any form of female genital cutting, even something as minor as a ritual nick to the hood of the clitoris, is illegal in the United States. The comparison to female circumcision is useful in so far as it helps to uncover a cultural bias that has yielded a legal double standard in the U.S. But understanding this inconsistency doesnt get us any closer to answering the second question. The law prohibiting female circumcision might be as unnecessary as the proposed ban on male circumcision.
Nevertheless, one of the states primary responsibilities is to protect its citizens. And by allowing parents to permanently alter the bodies of their children, the state is failing to protect its most vulnerable citizens from bodily harm. It seems reasonable to draw a legal line when it comes to body modifications that have life-long consequences.
To answer the third question, I will focus on the Jewish community, as my knowledge of Islam is insufficient to do that community justice. I would argue that a clear majority of American Jews do not circumcise their sons out of a sense of religious obligation, but rather as a means of ethnic identification. These people mostly have it done in the hospital by medical staff rather than a mohel, which, ironically, means that their sons do not and cannot have an actual religious brit milah. Criminalizing circumcision would not infringe on this groups religious rights, as they are not doing it for religious reasons. But there are religious American Jews who circumcise their boys out of a sense of religious obligation. These Jews can be divided into two groups: the fundamentalists and the non-fundamentalists. The former are a sub-group of Orthodox Jews who believe that our human understanding of ethics should not play a role in shaping Jewish law and practice. A ban on circumcision would indeed infringe on their right to practice their faith as they see fit. The human right to body integrity would, in this instance, override their religious right.
On the other hand, non-fundamentalist Jews, who constitute a very large number of Reform, Conservative, and even some Orthodox Jews, believe that human ethics are an essential element in the Jewish tradition. If my answer to the first question is correct, then there is a Jewish tradition practiced by virtually all Jewish parents today that is morally wrong. This should give pause to any non-fundamentalist religious Jew, and it is a black eye for the liberal movements that they have not taken this issue more seriously. Perhaps a law prohibiting circumcision is just what these Jews need to start a serious discussion about the problem of brit milah.
Eli Ungar-Sargon is an independent filmmaker who grew up in an Orthodox home. His first film, Cut, was about circumcision and Jewish identity.
- Outlawing Circumcision: Good for the Jews?
By Eli Ungar-Sargon
The Forward, The Jewish Daily, May 06, 2011, issue of May 20, 2011.
http://www.forward.com/articles/137577/
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Israeli Related Links: (In Hebrew)
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> Kahal / Intact Israelis' Parents' Rights Group (Israel, in Hebrew) <
> http://www.kahal.org <
> Israeli Association Against Genital Mutilation (Israel, in Hebrew) <
> http://www.britmila.org.il <
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Related Links: (In English)
> Jews Opposing Circumcision: Conservative, Orthodox, Reform and More (Israel, Uk, USA) <
> http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org <
> By Moshe Rothenberg, MSW. Ending Circumcision In The Jewish Community (Israel, UK, USA) <
> http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/rothenberg.html <
> *Brit B'lee Milah & Bris Shalom: Alternative Non-Circumcision Rituals (Israel, UK, USA) <
> http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html <
> One Rabbi Speaks Out Against Circumcision, 2007 (Israel, UK, CA) <
> http://www.rabbinathan.com/writings/circum.shtml <
> Paul M. Fleiss, MD., The Case Against Circumcision (UK) <
> http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/fleiss.html <
> by Lisa Braver Moss, Jewish Roots of Anti-Circumcision Arguments (UK, USA)<
> http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/moss.html <
> Jewish Women Speak Out: Miriam Pollack (UK) <
> http://www.noharmm.org/pollack.htm <
UK Jews Stop Circumcising
'I am calm and comfortable in the knowledge that no one will ever take a knife to this baby's flesh in the name of religion, and that my child will be every bit as Jewish as I am, or as Jewish as s/he chooses to be, with no mutilating mark upon the body. I am confident that my people have such an abundance of life-enhancing, life-affirming and mind-opening traditions, that our identity and sense of cultural self-heed will happily survive our outgrowing of circumcision, a cruel relic which has always felt to me like an aberration at the heart of my religion.'
- Dr. Jenny Goodman, Challenging Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective
http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/fourth/goodman.html
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'many Jews reject a brit milla as an archaic and barbaric ritual'
'Coming from a European background... where many Jews reject a brit milla as an archaic and barbaric ritual... This author grew up in France in a traditional Jewish family. Not a single male of her generation or her children's generation within her large family (or in her circle of Jewish friends) was ever circumcised.'
- Nelly Karsenty, Humanistic Judaism, 1988; 16(3): 14-20.
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Jews Opposing Circumcision: Conservative, Orthodox, Traditional Reform and More (Israel, Uk, USA)
'Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come; it is time to stop circumcision whatever have been the reasons and/or distresses that have perpetuated it.'
- Moshe Rothenberg, MSW.
Moshe Rothenberg, CSW, is a social worker for the New York City Board of Education. He received his MSW in Social Group Work at Yeshiva University - Wurzweiler School of Social Work (1973) and did post-graduate work in group and family therapy at Albert Einstein School of Medicine. Mr. Rothenberg initiated and coordinated two parent groups providing advocacy and counseling services for the Miskon-Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services in New York. He is an educator on the subject of Brit B'lee Milah both within and outside of the Jewish community in which he lives.
'a barbarous and primitive act that must be banished foreverand quickly.'
'This phenomenon is getting public attention, perhaps for the first time, after the establishment of the Association Against Genital Mutilation ( http://www.britmila.org.il ). The organization was founded by human rights activists who see the Brit Milah as a barbarous and primitive act that must be banished foreverand quickly.
Movements against circumcision have appeared recently in the US and in Europe, claiming that it must be banned not only because it is barbaric, but also because it is harmful to health. One study found that the pain treshold of baby boys who underwent circumcision was lower than that of boys who were not circumcised. Many more boys die from circumcision than from genital infections, claims one of the organizations founders, Rafi Rozen from Eilat.
The organization counts in its midtst tens of activists, among them parents who chose not to circumcise their sons. The members meet every other week and exchange ideas and opinions. They plan to be more active in the future, going to centers for natural birth to try to convince parents not to circumcise their sons.
Jonathan and Limor Enosh from Tel Aviv have been convinced already. They gave birth three months ago to their son Tzof and decided to spare him from Brit Milah. For a long time my wife and I were opposed to circumcision, thinking it was a cruel and painful act, says Jonathan.
I told our families that whoever believes that the Brit makes a child Jewish is wrong, tells a woman from Jerusalem whose two sons, ages 7 and 14, were not circumcised. There is no need to cut off anything to be Jewish. I decided not to take part in a deed that could lead to long-term mental trauma and physical harm, as well as reducing their pleasure in bed.
- Itamar Eichner, Yediot (Israel) - May 6, 1997
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An Orthodox Rabbi Speaks Out Against Circumcision Surgery
'Circumcision is not a guarantee of Jewishness. And yes, you can be Jewish with a foreskin.'
- Rabbi Natan Segal
Rabbi Natan Segal, Rabbi of Shabbos Shul, the Shul of Marin County, Marin County, California, U.S.A.
Ordination: 1977 Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Yeshiva B'nai Or Philadelphia, Pa.
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'Nancy Wainer is one such mother. When her son was born 34 years ago, Wainer and her husband had him ritually circumcised. She has regretted it ever since. 'I can still hear his cries,' she said. 'He cried for hours. He was inconsolable.' Now, as a midwife in Massachusetts, Wainer advises mothers to leave their sons' foreskins intact.'
- Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh - May 24, 2007
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'Yes to a party, but no to a brit.'
Ynet Jewish World, 2008
Yes to a party, but no to a brit....the decision to give it a pass is becoming increasingly trendy in Israel.
'I've managed to stand up to the religious, overbearing establishment,' is an old, familiar motto. Only this time, instead of getting married in Cyprus or holding a non-religious funeral at a kibbutz, we've decided to keep the boy in one piece, without performing 'barbaric' incisions in his body. What's wrong with that? We have here caring, well-informed parents who are unwilling to swallow every nonsensical argument that an over-zealous circumciser tries to shove down their throat at the neonatal ward.
And even I, a mitzvah observing person, don't have a problem with the ever-rising number of uncircumcised Israelis.
- Tali Farkash. It just doesn't cut it. YNET Jewish World, 2008.
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Jewish 'intactivists' in U.S. stop circumcising
'NEW YORK (Reuters) - In most respects, Michelle Chernikoff Anderson is a rabbi's dream congregant....like an increasing number of Jews in the United States, she has decided not to circumcise her son, rejecting the traditional notion... 'I see circumcision as a blood ritual that I can let go of,' said Anderson, who lives in Southern California.... At the Jewish Circumcision Resource Center in Boston, director [Dr.] Ron Goldman maintains a list of 400 names of Jews who refuse to circumcise their sons.'
- Jewish 'intactivists' in U.S. stop circumcising, REUTERS, 2007.
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'the circumcision of helpless, non-consenting babies becomes forbidden'
'Jewish law is an evolving process that has always taken into account new developments in science and understanding, and attempted to integrate them. Given what is known about life-threatening complications of neonatal circumcision, there is an argument from within Judaism to adapt Jewish law, so that the circumcision of helpless, non-consenting babies becomes forbidden, not demanded.'
- Dr. Jenny Goodman
Jewish circumcision: an alternative perspective. BJU Int 1999; 83 Suppl 1:22-27.
http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/goodman1999/
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Jews Opposing Circumcision: Conservative, Orthodox, Traditional, Reform and More (Israel, Uk, USA)
'I am confident that my people have such an abundance of life-enhancing, life-affirming and mind-opening traditions, that our identity and sense of cultural self-heed will happily survive our outgrowing of circumcision, a cruel relic which has always felt to me like an aberration at the heart of my religion.'
- Dr. Jenny Goodman
Challenging Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective
http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/goodman.html
___________________________________________________________________
Jews Opposing Circumcision: Conservative, Orthodox, Reform and More (Israel, Uk, USA)
'Judaism is a fluid religion that has been subject to change as it meets challenges and reaches new and better understandings. This is shown with the advent of non-traditional ceremonies, like Bat Mitzvah, and other significant changes to advance the roles of females including the ordination of women rabbis, chazzans and shamases.'
- Jews Against Circumcision (USA)
http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org
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'If compassion in all its fullness were applied to 8-day-old babies, circumcision would become impossible.'
'In Judaism, and in Islam, the human being is considered to be made in the image of God, and God is conceptualized as perfect. So one could not argue that interfering with Gods perfect creation is a form of blasphemy. In Judaism there is a law of Shmirat Ha Guf, the guarding or protecting of the body. Body-piercing, tattooing and amputation are all forbidden for this reason. Further, there is the Talmudic concept of Tsaar baalei chayyim, compassion for all living creatures. If compassion in all its fullness were applied to 8-day-old babies, circumcision would become impossible.'
http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/goodman1999/
- Dr. Jenny Goodman
Jewish circumcision: an alternative perspective. British Journal of Urology Internation 1999; 83 Suppl 1:22-27.
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'Jewish law specifically forbids body modification'
'Within the Jewish community, there is growing disagreement about circumcision. Some feel that circumcision contradicts other aspects of the Jewish religion. The Torah forbids the torture or causing of pain to any living creature, especially physically assaulting or harming another person (Exodus 21:18-27). Jewish law specifically forbids body modification, including the cutting or marking of the human body (Lev. 19:28). Jews are also required to help those who are helpless, such as newborn infants, and are exempt from performing religious duties that would cause harm to others.' - Ryan McAllister, Ph.D.
___________________________________________________________________
'many Jews reject a brit milla as an archaic and barbaric ritual'
'Coming from a European background... where many Jews reject a brit milla as an archaic and barbaric ritual... This author grew up in France in a traditional Jewish family. Not a single male of her generation or her children's generation within her large family (or in her circle of Jewish friends) was ever circumcised.'
- Nelly Karsenty, Humanistic Judaism, 1988; 16(3): 14-20.
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Nobel Prize Winner In Medicine
I should like to suggest to my fellow Jews that perhaps the time has come to redeem the foreskin itself, rather than sacrifice it. Surely some substitute might be found for this rite, ... that would be preferable to this assault upon and mutilation of a newborn infant...'
- Professor George Wald, M.D
___________________________________________________________________
Israeli Related Links: (In Hebrew)
___________________________________________________________________
> Kahal / Intact Israelis' Parents' Rights Group (Israel, in Hebrew) <
> http://www.kahal.org <
> Israeli Association Against Genital Mutilation (Israel, in Hebrew) <
> http://www.britmila.org.il <
___________________________________________________________________
Related Links: (In English)
> Jews Opposing Circumcision: Conservative, Orthodox, Reform and More (Israel, Uk, USA) <
> http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org <
> By Moshe Rothenberg, MSW. Ending Circumcision In The Jewish Community (Israel, UK, USA) <
> http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/rothenberg.html <
> *Brit B'lee Milah & Bris Shalom: Alternative Non-Circumcision Rituals (Israel, UK, USA) <
> http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html <
> One Rabbi Speaks Out Against Circumcision, 2007 (Israel, UK, CA) <
> http://www.rabbinathan.com/writings/circum.shtml <
> Intactivism in Islam (CO.) <
>
http://www.coloradonocirc.org/files/handouts/Islam_and_Circu.... <
> by Lisa Braver Moss, Jewish Roots of Anti-Circumcision Arguments (UK, USA)<
> http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/moss.html <
> Jewish Women Speak Out: Miriam Pollack (UK) <
> http://www.noharmm.org/pollack.htm
♡ Homeopathy International 1 last decade
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