Banning circumcision in a democratic country like Germany is something of the past and creates "great problems" for the country's Jewish community, Israel's Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger said during a visit to Berlin on Tuesday. In mid-July, a German court's ban on circumcising baby boys provoked a rare show of unity between Jews, Muslims and Christians, all of whom view it as a threat to religious freedom. Doctors warn it could increase health risks by forcing the practice underground. Speaking after meeting with German lawmakers to convince them to try to overturn the ruling, Metzger told Reuters Television on Tuesday that, "our advice is to change the rules of Jewish life here in Europe to start that every mohel [person carrying out circumcision] will have a certificate that he studied medicine to be professional in his job." "Almost every one of the leaders that I met was very positive and everyone understands that it will not be possible in a democracy like Germany that it will be forbidden to do circumcisions. So this has to be changed," said Metzger. "What the decision of the judge [was] belongs to the past. But they want to be sure that the baby will be kept safe and complete in his body so that the parents don't have to worry." In a country that is sensitive to charges of intolerance and discrimination, especially against Jews because of the Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis during World War II, many politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, criticized the ruling. "We do it on the eighth day after birth. This is the best time for a baby not to feel the pain. After a few minutes, you can see every baby after the circumcision is going to sleep," said Metzger, adding "this baby, when he will grow up, when he will marry and when he will have a son, he will do the same to his son. It's a sign that it does not cause trauma or pressure." The original ruling related to a Muslim family in Cologne whose son suffered complications after his circumcision. The court found that non-medical circumcision of a minor is a criminal act. Although the ruling was local, it has alarmed traditional Jews and Muslims across the country. Meanwhile, a rabbi in Bavaria has been slapped with criminal charges of committing bodily harm, in the first known case to arise following the anti-circumcision ruling. The charge against mohel Rabbi David Goldberg means that the decision in the state of Hesse has been applied in Bavaria, confirming Jewish leaders' fears that the local ruling would have a wider impact. Goldberg, 64, a Jerusalem native living in Hof Saale in Bavaria, told the Jewish Telegraph Agency he had not yet received a notice from the court. He said he would decide what to do after he had seen it. The charge was confirmed to the main Jewish newspaper in Germany, the Juedische Allgemeine Zeitung. The rabbi also said he did not know what act the charges could refer to, since he has not performed any circumcisions recently in Germany. "Only abroad: in Budapest, in the Czech Republic, in Italy," he told the JTA. Goldberg said regional journalists had informed him of the suit, saying it had been filed by a doctor in the state of Hessen who had gathered 600 signatures on an open letter to Merkel that supported the anti-circumcision ruling. The Anti-Defamation League said that it expected German authorities not to press charges against those who perform ritual circumcisions. "We believe it is unlikely, though, that the public prosecutor will bring charges because the Bavarian Ministry of Justice made a public statement several weeks ago that well-performed circumcisions were not criminal acts. We fully expect the Bavarian authorities to remain committed to that statement. Moreover, the flawed ruling by a judge in Cologne, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, that ritual circumcision is a form of assault and thus illegal, does not apply in the state of Bavaria, Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director, said in a statement. Despite this, anecdotal evidence shows that Jewish ritual circumcisions continue to be performed in Germany despite the ruling, according to the JTA. Although several hospitals have declared moratoriums on the practice for now, circumcision is being performed in private homes and in synagogues.
The mohel "doesn't need to be professional in brain [surgery] or professional in heart [surgery] or legs, only in this [area]," said Metzger.
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שיתוף כתבה
Israel's chief rabbi in Germany to lobby for end to brit ban
Rabbi in Bavaria slapped with criminal charges in the first known case to arise following German ban on circumcision • Anti-Defamation League says it doesn't expect authorities to press charges against those who perform ritual circumcisions.