Jewish foes of circumcision sit out attempts to ban it
by Lauren Markoe
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Though national and local Jewish groups have strongly condemned San Francisco’s proposed ban on infant circumcision, a small but vocal movement of Jews is trying to convince more of their own to abandon the practice.
What they won’t do, however, is join the San Francisco push to outlaw the practice in their pursuit of a circumcision-free world.
“It was a big mistake,” said Dr. Mark Reiss, executive vice president of Doctors Opposing Circumcision and an active member of his San Francisco synagogue. “We are experiencing a tremendous backlash from the Jewish community.”
Reiss said the coercive nature of the measure, which is slated to go before San Francisco voters on Nov. 8, recalls for many Jews the history of Jewish suffering as a religious minority. “They feel threatened,” he said.
Major Jewish denominations consider circumcision a religious obligation that welcomes a Jewish baby boy into the covenant between God and the Jewish people. The vast majority of Jewish men are circumcised, as are about 80 percent of all American men, one of the highest rates in the developed world....
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July 8th, 2011
2011-07-05 religionnews.com - Jewish foes of circumcision sit out attempts to ban it
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