Jews feel sting of proposed circumcision bans

While a growing body of pediatric research provides evidence of the long-term health benefits of infant male circumcision, the Nordic nations of Denmark, Iceland and Norway all have active movements promoting restrictions on the practice for any reasons other than medical needs – prompting concerns of anti-Semitism by Jews around the world.

In Denmark, the parliament is set to become the first in the European Union to vote on a non-binding motion calling to prohibit the practice for non-medical reasons, which has at least some of the country’s tiny Jewish population of 9,000 considering leaving the country.

In Iceland, where as few as 250 Jews reside, a government plan to ban a practice mandated in the Bible for male infants on the eighth day after birth was temporarily shelved but has resurfaced for further consideration. The Icelandic proposal calls for the consent of the child – something practically impossible for an 8-day-old baby to provide, thus making it a prohibition of the brit mila, and a limitation on freedom of religion.

Hannah Bentow, a Danish survivor of a 2015 attack on her synagogue during her bat mitzvah celebration party, says she is already making plans to leave the country – not because of the jihadist terror attack that resulted in the deaths of a Jewish guard and the assailant, but because, as a Jew, she feels unwelcome by the debate.

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“[It] makes me feel like I don’t belong, and like Denmark doesn’t want me to belong, either,” she says.

When Denmark’s Jewish minority is “so pressed already, with armed police at our school and armed troops at shul, this [debate] is sucking the marrow out of wanting to be Jewish,” said Mette Bentow, the mother of Hannah and two sons.

The language of the draft motion on circumcision that is pending a vote in parliament cites only child-welfare concerns.

“The introduction of an 18-year minimum age for circumcision puts children’s interests and rights at the forefront,” the text states. It calls for a jail term of up to six years for anyone who performs a circumcision and holds parents and guardians responsible whether the act happened in Denmark or not.

More than 50,000 people signed a petition on the Danish parliament’s website endorsing the text, which equates non-medical circumcision of boys with female genital mutilation. In Denmark and other European countries, campaigns to ban non-medical circumcision of boys – a religious initiation rite that Muslims call khitan and Jews call milah – have been around for years. Danish anti-circumcision activists made a breakthrough following an amendment this year saying that petitions that receive 50,000 signatures within six months of their posting on the parliament’s website are expected to be brought to a vote as a non-binding draft motion in parliament. The circumcision proposal cleared the signature hurdle within four months.

“Many others use the situation to show that they are against Jews, Muslims, and they can express anti-Semitism and xenophobia without admitting to it,” said Finn Rudaizky, a former leader of the Jewish community of Denmark.

In a survey conducted in 2016 among 1,027 adult Danes, 87 percent of respondents said they support a ban on non-medical circumcision of boys.

Infant circumcision is most associated with Jews, because of the biblical edict in Genesis 17: “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.” Yet, it is more widely practiced by Muslims worldwide – a practice they believe ensures cleanliness and protects them from infections. Infant circumcisions are also routinely suggested and practiced in the U.S. by pediatricians for health reasons.

Meanwhile, in Iceland, a member of Parliament proposed a law that would require parents who want to circumcise their child under the age of 18 to ask permission of the child. Since Jews are commanded in the Bible to perform the circumcision on the eighth day, the proposal would represent a de facto prohibition of a religious obligation.

While there were reports in April that the proposal was scrapped, the Judicial Affairs Committee and the Educational Committee of Parliament confirm the proposal is still under consideration.

The idea seems to be spreading in throughout Scandinavia as well. Last month, Gert Van Dijk representing the Royal Dutch Medical Association appeared on Dutch television to plead for an Icelandic approach in the Netherlands. He said that circumcision of boys is a violation of the right to physical integrity. He said removing the foreskin is damaging for boys because it can lead to less sexual pleasure. Van Dijk also compared the practice to female circumcision, widely practiced by Muslims.

Last month, 44 rabbis thanked Christians for supporting the right to circumcise infant boys in Iceland.

Interestingly, this month, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a new study finding that infant circumcision helps prevent urinary tract infections.

In Norway, Child Ombudsperson Anne Lindboe has hailed Iceland’s proposal as a human-rights effort and suggested that Oslo may follow suit.

"One is that the medical milieus in Norway have made very clear that circumcision of small boys is painful,” she said. “It is associated with some degree of complications and there is no medical reason for doing so."

According to Lindboe, men who have undergone circumcision at an early stage are known to experience problems and challenges later in life.

"We also have a child convention that is unequivocal that children have the right to be heard and to make their own choices," Lindboe said, suggesting that one should wait for the boys to reach the age of 15-16 to be able to decide for themselves.

The Icelandic bill was condemned by the European Jewish Congress, which said that the bill was an "attack on Judaism" that would also serve as an "effective deterrent, guaranteeing that no Jewish community will be established in the country."

Norway's Muslim community numbers over 200,000 people and has been growing exponentially in recent decades, exceeding 4 percent of the nation's total population of 5.2 million. By contrast, Norway's tiny Jewish diaspora numbers only between 700 and 1,200 people.

A growing number of anti-circumcision groups known as "intactivists" are growing increasingly boisterous and call the practice "male genital mutilation."

In the U.S. in 2011, activists in San Francisco managed to get a referendum on the ballot to ban circumcision. A judge overruled the initiative, and California Gov. Jerry Brown later signed a bill preventing local governments from enacting such laws.

There are other countries that restrict the practice. In Australia, it's banned at public hospitals, but it's legal to have it done privately. In Germany, it can be performed by "specially qualified members of religious communities" for boys under 6 months, after which it must be performed by a doctor. Sweden requires a doctor or nurse to be present during circumcision and mandates the use of anesthesia. South Africa prohibits circumcision for boys under 16 except for religious or medical reasons, and requires consent for boys over 16.

While some anti-circumcision activists claim that the practice can cause psychological harm or reduce penis sensitivity, a meta-analysis of 36 studies on the subject found that it has "no adverse effect on sexual function, sensitivity, sexual sensation, or satisfaction."