Jul 31, 2013<\/p>\n
A Jew Against Circumcision
\nBy Scott Raab at 1:30PM<\/p>\n
I’m not a circumcision fan, not as a Jew, not as a man. I belong to a
\nbranch of Judaism \u2014 Reconstructionist \u2014 that considers itself
\nenlightened and progressive; no “Chosen People” stuff, no rules about
\nmatrilineal descent, and yet, thanks to the apparently intractable
\nbelief that humankind’s covenant with God somehow specifically demands
\nthat each and every Jewish male must suffer ritual genital mutilation,
\nReconstructionists still insist upon the practice.<\/p>\n
Ritual. Genital. Mutilation. That’s precisely what circumcision is,
\nand it is performed for no other reason than virgins were sacrificed
\nto King Kong. The “health” reasons put forth on behalf of such routine
\ndisfigurement are unproved, including the belief, prevalent in the
\n19th-century U.S., that removing a foreskin would cut down on
\nmasturbation. As for the ethical and moral issues involved in
\nperforming elective surgery on a newborn \u2014 a situation where informed
\nconsent by the patient is an impossibility \u2014 well, hey, a covenant’s a
\ncovenant. With the Lord!<\/p>\n
What particularly galls me is the mealy-mouthed dishonesty practiced
\nby the American Academy of Pediatrics, which oh-so-carefully crawls a
\ntightrope spun of silken shite:<\/p>\n
“New scientific evidence shows the health benefits of newborn male
\ncircumcision outweigh the risks of the procedure, but the benefits are
\nnot great enough to recommend routine circumcision for all newborn
\nboys.”<\/p>\n
The procedure? Ritual genital mutilation. Yes, I have a son, and when
\nhe was born, I hired a mohel to cut him. What a dolt I was. An
\nignorant fundamentalist, nothing more. My wife, born and raised
\nCatholic, had to quash the urge to seize the boy and vanish into the
\nwoods behind our house before the mohel began. I wish she had.<\/p>\n