Norwegian Foreign Minister Says Government Will Not Propose Ban On Ritual Circumcision

Earlier this month, Norway's health minister said that the government would introduce new legislation limiting or regulating ritual circumcision of boys under 18. (See prior posting.) However, The Foreigner reports that last Friday after the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) warned that a ban would "stand in direct defiance of international laws protecting religious freedom," Norway's foreign minister gave assurances that a ban will not be proposed.  In a letter to the SWC, Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende wrote: "the Norwegian Government recognizes the importance of ritual male circumcision for the Jewish community in Norway… [and] it will not propose a ban on ritual circumcision." In a press release today, SWC thanked Brende and said: "The Wiesenthal Center is ... particularly grateful that Foreign Minister Brende's letter also puts his government on record as 'committed to safeguarding freedom of religion as enshrined in international law'."

It is unclear whether Brende's letter still leaves open the possibility of regulation short of a complete ban. Last month, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in a resolution on children's physical integrity recommended that member countries "clearly define the medical, sanitary and other conditions to be ensured for practices which are today widely carried out in certain religious communities, such as the non-medically justified circumcision of young boys." (See prior posting.)

Swedish Jewish Activist Applies In Protest For Asylum In Her Own Country

Citing legal attacks in Sweden on kosher slaughter and ritual circumcision, a Jewish political adviser to the Swedish party Folkpartiet announced in an article in Mosaic Magazine that she is applying for refugee status in her own country.  Annika Hernroth-Rothstein wrote in part:

When it comes to our religious traditions, those on both the Right and Left in Swedish politics find common ground; they take pride in defending both animals and children from the likes of us, and from what one politician has called our “barbaric practices.”... 

EU statutes provide that asylum be granted to persons with “well-founded reasons to fear persecution due to race; nationality; religious or political beliefs; gender; sexual orientation; or affiliation to a particular social group.” Jews in Sweden meet these criteria, and should be eligible for the same protection and support extended to non-natives. 

And so today, November 18, I am legally filing for refugee status and asylum—not in America, not in Israel, but here in Sweden, my own country.

Absurd?  No doubt. I can only expect that my application will be summarily dismissed. But the situation is beyond absurdity, beyond op-eds and strongly worded letters of protest. The situation calls for action.

Norway's Government Will Propose New Law On Ritual Circumcision

Norway's health minister Brent Hoie says that by this spring the government will introduce new legislation on non-medical circumcision of boys under 18. Each year some 2000 Muslim and 7 Jewish newborns are circumcised in Norway. According to the Jerusalem Post yesterday, the announcement follows a recommendation by Norway's Children’s Ombudswoman Anne Lindboe to completely ban non-medical circumcision of boys under 18 without their consent. Lindboe said: "This is not due to any lack of understanding of minorities or religious traditions, but because the procedure is irreversible, painful and risky."  It is not clear what the proposed bill will provide.