Activist urges probe of 'trial' circumcisions on Ethiopian babies

Former MK Pnina Tamano-Shata (Yesh Atid) is calling for an investigation into the members of the Israeli rabbinate who encourage trainee mohel to "practice" on babies of Ethiopian extraction and babies of foreign laborers in Israel without having received proper training.

The issue came to light this week in a Channel 2 expose that revealed the contemptuous attitude of some rabbis in Israel toward the Ethiopian-Israeli community. The report caught Rabbi Eliyahu Assulin of Hadera saying on camera that trainee mohels should practice on Ethiopian babies, which he referred to as "cannon fodder -- the best."

The report set off a stormy debate in the Knesset Immigrant Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee on Monday, in which committee chairman MK Avraham Neguise (Likud) called the facts that came to light "a new low in discrimination against the [Ethiopian] community, which is portrayed as a weak community ... this matter must be investigated, and those guilty put on trial, but the Health Ministry is evading responsibility."

Rabbi Pinchas Frenkel, the Health Ministry official responsible for overseeing religious matters, stressed that a ritual circumcision was not considered a "medical procedure" and therefore the Health Ministry and the Chief Rabbinate were jointly responsible for overseeing it.

Tamano-Shata attended the committee meeting, making an impassioned call to investigate the allegations: "There needs to be an investigative committee! Let the rabbis come and explain what they think of us! Who gave them permission? Why do they have a monopoly [on circumcision]? I want to know why! If it was European Jews, the media would be making noise. But what does it matter? It's Israel, it's black people, what does it matter? Who even cares? No one cares!"

In an interview with Israel Hayom, Tamano-Shata said: "I can't believe that after the babies were hurt -- there is evidence -- no one has done anything. That isn't my country, these aren't the Jewish values on which I was raised.

"If we don't know how to take care of the rights of the weakest populations, what are we worth? Babies must not be exposed to danger because of the color of their skin," Shata declared.

"For a week I've been travelling around my country, and waiting to hear that there's been a follow-up, that the relevant ministers are addressing it, that an investigation has been launched. I myself went and filed a complaint with the police, but no one is doing anything. Unfortunately, the decision-makers are detached from the public.

"It is unacceptable that people, because they aren't Jewish, are subject to 'experiments' that hurt babies. My shouts [in the Knesset committee] came as a mother, as a Jewish woman, who is no longer willing to be a victim," she said.

Tamano-Shata noted she was happy that the clip of her outburst in the Knesset had gone viral, as it proved that there were people in Israel who cared about others and about the struggles of the Ethiopian community in particular.

The former lawmaker called upon both chief rabbis to make it clear that no harm must come to babies, regardless of the color of their skin or their religion. "But everyone is keeping their mouths shut. ... The rabbinate is still doubtful about our status as Jews," she said.

"My pain as a mother needs to be felt in every home in Israel that believes in Jewish values and loves its country."

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