Reform Jews are making cause with Haredim! \u00a0Muslims are embracing the concerns of rabbis!\u00a0 What\u2019s going on here?\u00a0Did the messiah come?<\/p>\n
No.\u00a0 They\u2019re all up in arms because a German court has ruled against religious circumcision.\u00a0 Nothing like ritual genital mutilation to unite the faiths.<\/p>\n
So that I can avoid the pitchforks and torches, let me be clear that I\u2019m generally opposed to anti-circumcision laws.\u00a0 With a custom as old as male circumcision, no ordinance or ruling will bring about its end.\u00a0 For that we need to employ reason and persuasion.\u00a0 We must also be willing to practice some patience.\u00a0 People have to be allowed to come to their own conclusions about it.\u00a0 Statutory prohibitions are actually counter-productive,\u00a0blocking reasoned discourse and\u00a0providing a sympathetic platform for religious leaders to rouse emotions.<\/p>\n
One element blocking such discourse is that this decision came from a German court.\u00a0 Accusations of antisemitism were inevitable. \u00a0It will also not stand. \u00a0The Bundestag will undoubtedly clarify that the procedure is permitted for religious reasons and the hubbub will die down.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s remember that this decision was based upon a case involving a four year-old\u00a0Muslim\u00a0boy.\u00a0 Performing the procedure on a four year-old is even more incomprehensible to me than doing it to an infant. \u00a0It seems to me that when we\u2019re talking about four year-olds we are already well into a kind of child abuse that we can all agree upon.<\/p>\n
So here\u2019s a modest suggestion. \u00a0If legislators or judges seek to minimize suffering, they should perhaps turn their attention to placing some reasonable restrictions on the practice such as imposing age limits.\u00a0 Clearly, the pain and suffering associated with this unnecessary surgery increases with age.<\/p>\n
And far be it from me to bust up the great spirit of interfaith cooperation that the court has engendered, but since Jews favor infant circumcision, maybe they could be convinced to get on board with such age restrictions.\u00a0 Muslims, whose customs range from infant to puberty-aged circumcisions, should at least be compelled to practice the somewhat less complicated custom of infant circumcision.<\/p>\n
Of course, even this modest reform would do little to address the core issue that is the madness of 21st century people engaging in barbaric Bronze Age genital mutilation.\u00a0 But given that this injudicious practice is widespread and deeply rooted in tradition, only education and awareness can lead to its eventual \u2013 and much hoped for \u2013 demise.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reform Jews are making cause with Haredim! \u00a0Muslims are embracing the concerns of rabbis!\u00a0 What\u2019s going on here?\u00a0Did the messiah come? No.\u00a0 They\u2019re all up in arms because a German court has ruled against religious circumcision.\u00a0 Nothing like ritual genital mutilation to unite the faiths.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogentries","tag-science-and-reason"],"yoast_head":"\n