Challenges to Circumcision in Israel

Abstract

In Israel, almost all Jewish and Muslim male children are subjected to circumcision. Many Christian male children are circumcised as well. Usually, almost no thought is given to the deed or to its results. It is considered an obligation that cannot be omitted or questioned. Parents who protect their babies from circumcision are subjected to strong condemnation and often also to ostracism from their families. Circumcisers do not provide correct or credible information about the operation or its medical and anatomical implications. They usually perform it without providing any information. They also do not seek the consent of the child’s parents or guardians. Furthermore, circumcisers are not required to provide documentation that informed consent for the operation was legally obtained. There have been well-publicised cases in Israel where it was found, after the surgery had been performed, that the child had been circumcised either against the will of the child’s parents or guardian or in situations where the parents were not united in their view regarding the execution of the circumcision. In one case, for example, two mohels (traditional circumcisers), who assumed that the infant’s mother was in favour of letting her child be circumcised, performed the operation, after which it was revealed that the mohels had acted without the mother’s approval and against her will.