The Jewish Foreskin & Intactivism in Judaism - Israelis, Parents, Rabbis, Israeli Nurses, Doctors, Reform, Moyel / Mohel, Tradition, MD, Hassidic Jews, Orthodox, Conservative, Circumcision, Bris, Brit Milah

* The Jewish Society to Abolish Genital Mutilation *
* http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org *




Feel Free to Quote and Reprint!

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* Comments to a Jewish mother in the U.S. who is keeping her Jewish son intact. *
http://www.consciouswoman.org/2009/01/07/a-father-and-son-di....

* “As the mother of two intact Jewish boys who also blazed a trail in their family, I applaud you for that…”

* “My daughter and husband listened to the new evidence and their boys are intact.”

* “…As a Jewish mother who also did not circumcise her son, I am thrilled for you and your precious angel, that he, indeed, your whole family, remains intact, un-traumatized and whole.”

* “I am so happy about your decision to keep your boy intact. You guys have guts (and lots of smarts too, obviously).”

* The fact that already other baby boys are being spared the scalpel because of your stance is so inspiring. Each time someone finds the courage to think for themselves, it creates a
ripple of strength for others to follow.

* Kudos to you for throwing off the shackles of tradition and allowing your son(s) his(their) birthright(s) to a whole body.

* A dear friend of mine was wise enough to leave his two sons intact and, like you, has a right to be proud of his decision for following in the Jewish tradition of thought, the golden rule, and questioning dogma.

http://www.consciouswoman.org/2009/01/07/a-father-and-son-di....

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* It has even been suggested that early Judaism forbad circumcision!' *

According to modern scholars, circumcision is not even mentioned in the either the earliest, 'J', version of Bereshth ('Genesis') nor the next three rewrites by other authors. Most importantly, the story of Abram is there in its entirety, except the part about the Covenant being 'sealed' with circumcision. The parallel Covenant story of 'a smoking kiln and its blazing torch' passing between the halves of animals and birds sacrificed by Abram is in J. Many biblical scholars agree on this point, and it is in accord with the mitzvot against desecrating the body.... It has even been suggested that early Judaism forbad circumcision!'
- The Case for Bris without Milah.
http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish.html

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* Many of the leading activists against circumcision around the country are Jewish *

'AS AN INCREASING NUMBER OF AMERICANS – including a sizable number of American Jews – question the act of male circumcision, a group of San Francisco activists are advocating to ban circumcision, or what they call male genital mutilation ( http://sfmgmbill.org )... Many of the leading activists against circumcision around the country are Jewish ( http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish.html ).... Opponents of male circumcision believe that circumcision not only inflicts tremendous pain on babies, but also causes psychological damage to men, including feelings of anger, distrust and grief. They believe circumcision hinders full sexual satisfaction since the foreskin that is removed during circumcision includes thousands of sensitive nerve endings ( http://www.cirp.org/news/Mothering1997/ ).'
- Jerusalem Post, Challenging the Circumcision Myth, 04/10/2011

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* Tens of Thousands of Jews in Israel are Keeping Their Sons Intact *

'In Israel, opposition to circumcision has happened in just two decades, and now these “rebels” number in the tens of thousands, according to Ronit Tamir, founder of Kahal ( http://www.kahal.org ), a support group for parents who choose not to circumcise their children.'
- Jewish World, 3/11/10.

* Jewish Intactivist Organizations in Israel *

* The Israeli Society to Abolish Mutilation *
* http://www.britmila.org.il (in Hebrew) *

* Israel's Protect the Child Organization. *
* http://www.gonen.us (in Hebrew) *

* Parents of Intact Sons Human Rights Group. (in Israel) *
* http://www.kahal.org (in Hebrew) *

* The Jewish Society to Abolish Genital Mutilation *
* http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org *

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* Jewish Radio Host Howard Stern Says Circumcision Should Be Against The Law. *

* Howard Stern, Jewish Intactivst by Rebecca Wald, JD *
http://www.beyondthebris.com/2011/03/howard-stern-jewish-int....

Satellite radio talk show host Howard Stern told millions of listeners this Tuesday that he felt male infant circumcision should be illegal in the United States, declaring it a “mutilation.”
“I agree with you that men should not be circumcised. . . I don’t know where this circumcision came from, some people feel it’s a religious thing... There’s been all kinds of myths. I think it’s nonsense. That if you’re born that way, it seems to me it’s a mutilation to cut it off. I think our foreskins were cut off in order to desensitize us, and I think it was a bunch of religious nudnicks who decided they didn’t want us going around fornicating so they cut off some of our penis skin.”
Many times during the interview, Stern said he agreed with Low that circumcision should be illegal.
Stern wrapped things up by telling Low, “ I happen to agree with you that foreskin removal should be illegal. It is a mutilation.”
- Howard Stern, Jewish Intactivst by Rebecca Wald, JD
http://www.beyondthebris.com/2011/03/howard-stern-jewish-int....

* Jewish Intactivism's Influence in the USA and Israel. *

This dynamic site is being created by, for, and about Jewish people. We won't always agree. But we're united by this principle: the genital cutting of infants and children is wrong and must stop, no matter their religion or gender.
- by Rebecca Wald, JD.
http://www.beyondthebris.com/

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* Circumcision is Profoundly Wrong, Says an Influential Rabbi. *

'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.

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* Jewish Nurses Who Refuse to Circumcise *

'...as a Jew, how could I not speak up against Jewish circumcision? I would be letting Jewish babies down.'
- Betty Katz-Sperlich, RN., Founder of Nurses for the Rights of the Child ( http://nurses.cirp.org/ ), the biggest organization of nurses who refuse to circumcise, and who are working to ban genital mutilation from the medical profession.

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“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
Harvard University Professor, Nobel Laureate in Physiology and Medicine

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* Profound Moral and Ethical Reasons to Abolish Circumcision. *

' the genital cutting of infants and children is wrong and must stop, no matter their religion or gender.'

Jewish values have always placed ethics above doctrine. This is why so many laws set forth in the Torah have been completely abandoned (or have never been followed in a literal sense).
There are a great many examples of how infant circumcision violates traditional Jewish law, values, and ethics and I can’t possibly address all of these here. However I do want to point out a few:
* It is an essential characteristic of Jewish law to explain, interpret, and reinterpret the Torah in ways that are fair, righteous and ethical from a human standpoint.
* Hillel the elder (a famous Jewish religious leader and one of the most important figures in Jewish history) formulated the golden rule of Jewish ethics which is: “What is hateful to you, do not do unto others. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.”
* According to Jewish law, the human body must not be altered or marked.
* The Torah prohibits causing pain to any living creature.
* According to historians, it was not always traditional Jewish practice to circumcise. The earliest versions of the Torah mention the covenant between God, Abraham and the Jewish people but don’t mention circumcision, indicating that it was not always a requirement. Even after circumcision became the rule, for about 2000 years only the tip of the foreskin was removed. It was during the Hellenic period that rabbis changed the requirements of the procedure to remove the entire foreskin.
- Rebecca Wald, J.D.
http://www.beyondthebris.com/

A web-based multimedia project that puts real faces and voices to the current Jewish movement against circumcision. This dynamic site is being created by, for, and about Jewish people. We each hold our own ideas about life and our Jewish heritage. We won't always agree. But we're united by this principle: the genital cutting of infants and children is wrong and must stop, no matter their religion or gender.

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'It's a mitzvah to fight to end circumcision!'
- Samuel Richmond, an Intactivist Jew who lives in the U.S.A. http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish.html

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* Essays by Jewish Intactivist Writers *
* Jewish Ethical and Moral Intactivism *

* Ending Circumcision In The Jewish Community By Moshe Rothenberg (New York) *
* http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/rothenberg.html *

* The Influence of Intactivist Jews in Israel *
* http://abchomeopathy.com/forum2.php/272878/ *

* The Growing Movement of Jewish Intactivist Parents *
* http://www.consciouswoman.org/2009/01/07/a-father-and-son-di.... *

* Professor Michael Kimmel, A Jewish Intactivst Father (USA) *
* http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/kimmel1/ *

* Dr. Jenny Goodman, Challenging Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective (U.K.) *
* http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/fourth/goodman.html *

* International Groups Call to Abolish Circumcision Worldwide. *
* http://abchomeopathy.com/forum2.php/272884/ *

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* Humanistic Jews Are Already Keeping The Sons Intact! *

'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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* Profound Moral Reasons for Jewish Intactivism. *

'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... 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 (UK)
http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/fourth/goodman.html


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'The movement to ban circumcision includes many Jews.' - Jerusalem Post, 2011

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& International Jews Are Already Keeping The Sons Intact! &
'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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& A Jewish Woman Denounces Circumcision, By Laura Shanley &

'...circumcision is really a human rights issue. What right do any of us have to permanently remove a normal, healthy, sensitive part of another person's body without their consent? I have no problem with an adult male who chooses to be circumcised. I do have a problem with an adult who makes that decision for a child. I have known too many men, both Jewish and Christian, who resent the fact that they were circumcised.'
- Laura Shanley, A Jewish Woman Denounces Circumcision
http://www.unassistedchildbirth.com/miscarticles/circarticle....


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& Jewish Women Speak Out Against Circumcision: Miriam Pollack (UK)
& http://www.noharmm.org/pollack.htm

& Brit B'lee Milah and Bris Shalom: An Alternative Non-Circumcision Ritual (U.K.) &
& http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html &

& Bris B'lee Milah and Bris Shalom Ceremony Text (U.K.) &
& http://www.noharmm.org/nontrad.htm &

& Brit B'lee Milah and Bris Shalom Ceremony Text (U.K.) &
& http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/bris_shalom.html &

& Related Intactivist Tools and URLs: (In English) &
& http://abchomeopathy.com/forum2.php/245164/ &

& Brit Shalom, A Holistic Covenant of Wholeness Text (U.K.) &
& http://www.nocirc.org/religion/Naming_ceremony.php &

& List of Brit B'lee Milah and Bris Shalom Rabbis by Dr. Mark Reiss, M.D. (U.K.) &
& http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html &

& Jewish Roots of Anti-Circumcision Arguments by Lisa Braver Moss (USA) &
& http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/moss.html &

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Also the singer and literary critic Menachem Ben didn’t arrange a Brit Milah for his sons—in spite of his firm belief in God and the Bible. “It is possible to do a Brit Milah at a level specified in the Torah: ‘And you circumcised the foreskin in your heart,’ ” he claims with insistence. “I circumcised my sons my own way, without cutting, by reading verses from the Bible.”
- Yediot (Israel)

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The debate has even extended to the religious practice of Jews. Theo Margaritov's family welcomed him in April with a brit shalom, a cut-free ceremony. 'That's the way God made him,' says his mom Deborah.
- TIME Magazine, 2008

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as recently as the mid-nineteenth century, in Eastern Europe and Russia there was a widespread move to stop the practice... Led by women--what a surprise!--who thought the practice barbaric and patriarchal, the movement eventually even convinced Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, who refused to allow his own son to be circumcised.
– Professor Michael S. Kimmel, TIKKUN, 2001.
http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/kimmel1/

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Rothenberg, a Brooklyn social worker and high school guidance counselor, has helped hold a bris-sans-circumcision for more than 100 local families, “It's a welcoming ceremony, a celebration of the newborn,” that usually includes prayers, naming and — depending on parental preferences — tree-planting, singing, dancing, blessings, or donations to plant trees in Israel... Rothenberg hopes to educate other parents to make decisions about their sons “on the basis of principle, not conformity ( http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/rothenberg.html ). - Daily News

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Some families that have opted not to have their sons circumcised are resorting to an alternative ceremony called Brit Shalom -- meaning covenant of peace. This ritual is a baby-naming ceremony done without removing the infant's foreskin, explained Rabbi Adam Chalom of Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in Chicago. The Brit Shalom ( http://www.abchomeopathy.com/forum2.php/241512/ ) is similar to a traditional bris in that it welcomes the baby boy into the covenant of the Jewish community. During the ceremony, parents talk to the child, sing songs, read poetry and share wine. - Religion News Service

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Some Jews who choose not to circumcise but still want a ritual, change the ritual to omit the circumcision. Instead, they include other ceremonial elements that are sensitive to the infant and the community. Such an alternative ritual, sometimes referred to as a naming ceremony or 'bris shalom,' has all the joy of the usual ritual without the pain of the circumcision.... Theodor Herzl was one of the most prominent figures who did not circumcise his son, who was born in 1891.
- Ronald Goldman, Jewish Spectator, Fall 1997

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'Eventually I think religious people, too, will stop doing it.' - Kasher

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'Jewish identity can survive without circumcision, in fact, even better without it because more and more non-religious Jews have an aversion [to the religion] because of some of the things it contains, like circumcision. Judaism has enough content in it to survive without circumcision.' - Ben-Yami

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& '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, Friday, December 19, 2008.

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'an article in the January 1999 British Journal of Urology reported that women who had slept with both circumcised and intact men preferred sex with men who were not circumcised. The article reported that the women achieved orgasm faster, and were more likely to achieve multiple orgasms.'
- Professor Michael S. Kimmel, TIKKUN, 2001.

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'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 God’s 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 ‘Tsa’ar ba’alei chayyim’, compassion for all living creatures. If compassion in all its fullness were applied to 8-day-old babies, circumcision would become impossible.'
- J. Goodman, MA, MBChB, Jewish circumcision: an alternative perspective. BJU Int 1999; 83 Suppl 1:22-27.
http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/goodman1999/

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'In the Jewish state live today tens, maybe hundreds of parents who decided, for ideological reasons, to spare their sons from the Brit Milah and leave them whole the way they were born. In addition, there are quite a few adult men who never underwent a circumcision, not to mention the thousands of new immigrants who were not circumcised.
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 forever—and 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 organization’s 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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'in Europe, South America and Israel, as well as here, there are Jews who do not circumcise their sons.'
- Dr. Ronald Goldman, Baltimore Jewish Times


* The Israeli Society to Abolish Mutilation *
* http://www.britmila.org.il (in Hebrew) *

* Israel's Protect the Child Organization. *
* http://www.gonen.us (in Hebrew) *

* Parents of Intact Sons Human Rights Group. (in Israel) *
* http://www.kahal.org (in Hebrew) *

* The Jewish Society to Abolish Genital Mutilation *
* http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org *

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Published in the Jerusalem Post, 2002.
By Hilary Leila Kreiger.

Kasher says, 'I don't see any reason why I should cut my son's genitals. There is no reason and I don't think I have the right, even as a parent, to cut a normal part of his body just because other people do it.'

He foresees a time when the practice will be relegated to history books. 'Eventually I think religious people, too, will stop doing it.'

The issue, according to opponents of circumcision, includes the moral ramifications of cutting one's child and the psychological impacts stemming from the trauma. They claim that the level of discomfort experienced by the child increases his later response to pain and hurts the bond between the baby and his mother. They also maintain that circumcision diminishes sexual pleasure and that there is no medical reason to remove the foreskin.

Ben-Yami counters that 'Jewish identity can survive without circumcision, in fact, even better without it because more and more non-religious Jews have an aversion [to the religion] because of some of the things it contains, like circumcision. Judaism has enough content in it to survive without circumcision.'

'It's something that came into Judaism from other religions and other tribal [customs] and it will pass from Judaism [too],' Udi says.

'It's going to vanish by itself, from the people,' he says.

A group of 35 American Jews that claims members from secular to Orthodox tries to find ways of reconciling Judaism to a circumcision-free life. The organization, Jews Against Circumcision (http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org), was started, as founder Gillian Flato of California puts it, because information against the practice 'must come from within.'
- JERUSALEM POST, 21 November 2002

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What about religion? For boys and girls alike, under basic human rights principles, anothers right to practice a religion must end where that individuals body begins. Otherwise, individual protections carry little meaning. Many Jews and Muslims are involved with organizations working to stop male circumcision, and many are questioning whether removal of healthy tissue from the bodies of their children is required by or even consistent with their faith.
- Steven Svoboda, J.D., 'In Search of Fatherhood' Magazine Interview

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The Good Weekend, The Sydney Morning Herald Magazine
May the foreskin be with you

Dr Paul Fleiss ( http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/fleiss.html ), assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California Centre, says the foreskin is 'a uniquely specialised, sensitive, functional organ of touch.' It makes proteins that fight bacteria and viruses, and produces a moisturiser that keeps the surface of the glans sensitive, soft and moist. Indeed, it has more specialised nerve endings than any other part of the penis, and is as sensitive as the lips of the mouth.

As far as personal hygiene is concerned, removing the foreskin to have a cleaner penis makes as much sense as removing the eyelid to have a cleaner eyeball.

- Dr Karl S. Kruszelnicki, May the foreskin be with you
The Good Weekend, The Sydney Morning Herald Magazine

Mohel Calc Sulph Arnica Moyel Calendula Nat
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* The Founding Seeds of an Muslim Intactivst Movement *
Islamic Intactivists International
http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/aldeeb1/

* International Intactivism and Human Rights *
http://circabolition.multiply.com/journal/item/344/Genocides....

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& Jewish Women Speak Out Against Circumcision: Miriam Pollack (UK)
& http://www.noharmm.org/pollack.htm

& Brit B'lee Milah and Bris Shalom: An Alternative Non-Circumcision Ritual (U.K.) &
& http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html &

& Bris B'lee Milah and Bris Shalom Ceremony Text (U.K.) &
& http://www.noharmm.org/nontrad.htm &

& Brit B'lee Milah and Bris Shalom Ceremony Text (U.K.) &
& http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/bris_shalom.html &

& Related Intactivist Tools and URLs: (In English) &
& http://abchomeopathy.com/forum2.php/245164/ &

& Brit Shalom, A Holistic Covenant of Wholeness Text (U.K.) &
& http://www.nocirc.org/religion/Naming_ceremony.php &

& List of Brit B'lee Milah and Bris Shalom Rabbis by Dr. Mark Reiss, M.D. (U.K.) &
& http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html &

& Jewish Roots of Anti-Circumcision Arguments by Lisa Braver Moss (USA) &
& http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/moss.html &