Businessmen to Finance Mohel

By European Jewish Press

Israel’s Chief Rabbi has suggested that doctors train people who carry out circumcisions in Germany, after a Cologne court in June had ruled the procedure illegal as a religious rite carried out on children without their consent.

On a visit to Germany, Rabbi Yona Metzger hit back at the court’s suggestion that circumcision constitutes grievous bodily harm.

Metzger noted that the rite has been practiced for 4,000 years, and 1,800 in Germany, calling it the “root of the Jewish soul” and a tradition “that you can never depart from.”

“We give the infant a drop of sweet wine” Metzger said, in order to somewhat anesthetize them before the procedure. “Doctors should also study the teaching material and decide whether a circumciser is competent,” he added, speaking at a press conference in Berlin.

Though surveys showed that a majority of Germans approved of the verdict, outrage at the ruling by Muslims and Jews has rippled around the globe. Diplomats have said that the ruling has proved “disastrous” to Germany’s international image, particularly in light of the country’s Nazi past.

In July, the German parliament adopted a nonbinding cross-party resolution to protect religious circumcision.

The resolution recognized that ‘circumcision has a central religious significance for Jews and Muslims.’

It is not clear if Germany will require that circumcision be carried out with a local anesthetic. Metzger said that Jewish practice forbids the practice.

Prosecutors in Bavaria said this week that a doctor had sought to bring charges against a local mohel, Rabbi David Goldberg for performing a bris.

The Rabbinical Center in Europe, a Brussels-based representative body, said a group of Jewish and non-Jewish business executives offered to assist in the funding of all necessary legal costs for Goldberg.

Chief prosecutor Gerhard Schmitt confirmed that the complaint was filed, although it has not yet been decided whether legal action will be carried out against the rabbi.

“Once (Goldberg) receives notice from the court, we will ensure that he receives the highest levels of legal representation thanks to several European businessmen who announced that they will donate any funds necessary,” stated Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg of the Rabbinical Center.