Critical Reaction To German Ban on Ritual Circumcision of Boys Continues

Jewish Journal reported yesterday that rabbis from around Europe have held a 3-day meeting in Berlin to plan how to combat the ruling from a court in the city of Cologne last month banning ritual circumcision of young boys. (See prior posting.)  They plan further talks with Muslims and Christians who also see the ruling as a more general threat to religious freedom. Pinchas Goldschmidt, the chief rabbi of Moscow who organized the meeting, urged the German Jewish community to continue to perform circumcisions without waiting for a change in the law. The head of the German Medical Association, who has urged doctors to refrain from performing circumcisions until the legal situation is clarified, says that there is a risk that now increased numbers of non-medically trained persons will perform circumcisions. This could lead to medical complications.

This week Jewish and Muslim leaders also met with members of the German and the European  Parliament seeking legislation to stop the ban from spreading beyond the area affected by the Cologne court's decision.  Rabbi Goldschmidt said that the ban threatens the existence of Germany's Jewish community and is another example of creeping prejudice in European law against non-Christians. Germany's opposition Green Party promised to seek legislation to protect religious rights of Jews and Muslims.  Meanwhile, British Chief  Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks wrote a powerful denunciation of the German court's action, saying in part:

It is hard to think of a more appalling decision. Did the court know that circumcision is the most ancient ritual in the history of Judaism, dating back almost four thousand years to the days of Abraham? ... Did it know that banning milah [circumcision] was the route chosen by two of the worst enemies the Jewish people ever had, the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV and the Roman emperor Hadrian, both of whom set out to extinguish not only Jews but also Judaism?.... If it did not [know this], then how was it competent to assess the claim of religious liberty? If it did, then there are judges in Germany quite willing to say to religious Jews, in effect, "If you don’t like it, leave." Do judges in Cologne today really not know what happened the last time Germany went down that road?

[Thanks to Eric Rassbach via Religionlaw for the lead on Lord Sack's comments.]

UPDATE: BBC News reports (7/13) that a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "Circumcision carried out in a responsible manner must be possible without punishment..... For everyone in the government it is absolutely clear that we want to have Jewish and Muslim religious life in Germany." He added that the government would look urgently at ways to create "legal certainty."