NEW YORK: Metzitzah: New regulations delayed

Wall Street Journal
March 9, 2015

NYC Delays Decision to Repeal Mandatory Parental Consent for Jewish Ritual

by Michael Howard Saul and Melanie Grayce West
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has delayed plans to repeal a city regulation requiring parental consent before a Jewish circumcision ritual is performed.
The ritual can cause herpes infection in infants.

Last month, administration officials announced a tentative agreement with a group of Jewish leaders in which parental consent would no longer be needed to perform the ritual known as metzitzah b’peh in which the mohel, the person who performs the circumcision, sucks blood from the baby’s wound.
Administration aides initially said the proposal would be presented to the Board of Health this month. Officials said Monday the proposal is now slated to be presented to the board in June and voted on at the panel’s next meeting.

“The administration and the coalition of religious leaders are formalizing specific terms of the agreement around metzitzah b’peh,” the city said in a statement from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released Monday.

The parental consent policy, approved by the board in 2012 when Michael Bloomberg was mayor, drew outcries from some in the Jewish community who lambasted the regulation as an attack on religious freedom. The ritual is practiced mostly by ultra-Orthodox Jews.

A person familiar with the negotiations between the religious community and the city said Monday the delay in presenting the proposal to the board was largely related to the city working out the specifics on how public health investigations will be conducted. There were some other legal issues, as well, the person said.

Another person familiar with the matter said city officials were concerned about rushing the proposal. Officials want the proposal to be as strong as possible, this person said, because the administration is asking board members, many of whom were appointed by Mr. Bloomberg, to reverse themselves.
The delay was not a concern at all to David Niederman, the president of United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn, and a rabbi involved in the negotiations with the city over the policy.

“The mayor has personally committed to ensure public safety in a very responsible and collaborative way with the community,” Rabbi Niederman said. “These delays, I understand, are procedural stuff with the city. I have no doubt that everyone is on the same page and that this issue is going to be resolved to the satisfaction of all concerned.”

The Wall Street Journal February 27, 2015 A Bad Call on Risky Circumcisions by the Editorial Board The herpes simplex virus, common and relatively harmless in adults, can be deadly to babies. Such infections in newborns are blessedly rare, but one thing is known to increase the risk significantly: the circumcision ritual called metzitzah b’peh, practiced by many ultra-Orthodox and some Orthodox Jews, in which a circumciser, or mohel, sucks blood from a newly cut penis with his mouth. The New York City Health Department, American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other authorities have long warned about the dangers of the practice. The Health Department has linked it to more than 12 herpes cases, and two deaths, since 2000, and has tried to get mohels to stop doing it. That is why it is distressing to see Mayor Bill de Blasio and Orthodox leaders celebrating a deal they made this week to abandon the city’s modest effort to regulate the practice, and instead leave it to the ultra-Orthodox community to help limit the damage metzitzah b’peh does — but voluntarily, and only after babies get sick, not before. Mr. de Blasio wants to stop requiring parents to sign a waiver acknowledging the risks of metzitzah b’peh. Rabbis called that policy, begun under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an unconscionable infringement on religious freedom. They refused to use the forms and sued the city. And so Mr. de Blasio, who has pleased the potent Orthodox voting bloc by ridiculing the policy as unenforceable while making no visible effort to enforce it, has decided simply to let the mohels do their thing, until a baby gets sick. The plan then is to do a series of DNA tests; if the baby’s mohel has the same herpes strain as the infected baby, he will be forbidden to do circumcisions. The plan needs Board of Health approval. The board should say no and take a stand for basic hygiene and common sense. Otherwise, this will be a city that requires tattoo artists to take infection-control courses and use sterile tools but tolerates an amateur surgery in which infection is fought with no more than perhaps a swig of Listerine. The administration says it will ask hospitals and doctors to distribute information about the risks of metzitzah b’peh, which should include accurate descriptions, including photographs, of the lesions and brain injuries suffered by babies whose safety their rabbis — and mayor — have allowed to be jeopardized.

NEW YORK: Metzitzah: Chasidim take offence at lottery ad

COLLive
February 7, 2013

Ad Uses Chassidim to Poke Fun

By COLlive reporter

A new commercial for the New York Lottery, using humor and exaggeration to portray what money can buy a lucky Powerball winner, might have pushed the line.

The TV spot, created by DDB New York ad agency, shows a man who has the perfect punch lines for any scenario, leaving people laughing hysterically wherever he goes.

In truth, the millionaire has employed a full-time team of comedy writers who feed him the jokes through an earpiece. He is "that kind of rich," the ad suggests.

One of the millionaire's punchlines is told to a group of Chassidic looking Jews seated in a deli.

"You're the herpetologist," the man tells them from a nearby eating booth, leading them to burst out in laughter.


A COLlive reader said it seemed like they were referring to the ongoing battle between the City of New York and the frum community over a custom of the bris milah (circumcision ceremony).

The City's Board of Health ["along with hundreds of the top infectious disease specialists and other public health specialists, including the US Centers for Disease Control and two major Israeli studies, one released in the past few days – but COLLive tells readers none of that" - thanks to Failed Messiah] says metzitzah b'peh (oral suction during the bris) can lead to fatal herpes infection. Rabbis and mohelim say there is no evidence to support that claim.

"This is no laughing matter and it's even frightening that the government is trying to regulate religious practice," Rabbi Levi Heber, the director of the International Bris Association, said in response to the Lottery commercial.

Speaking to COLlive, Heber said: "It's very unfortunate that people are not taking this matter seriously. The City's meddling in our rituals reminds many of Communist Russia. What's most ironic is that in Russia today Jews are more free to practice this mitzvah than in Brooklyn."

But what might be even more ironic is that the ad agency has mistakenly [or deliberately] used the term 'herpetologist' which is the occupation of a zoologist that specializes in reptiles, amphibians, crocodiles and turtles [and snakes, which one COLLive reader manages to extract further offence from, via the Yiddish word {schlange} for snake/penis.], with no connection to the herpes disease.

...

[What's distasteful and offensive is 1. cutting parts off babies' genitals, 2. sucking babies' {cut} genitals, and 3. passing off an informed consent form to sucking (but not to cutting) babies' genitals as a health-protection measure.]

NEW YORK: Metzitzah: Rabbis will resist parental consent forms

The Jewish Daily Forward
January 30, 2013

Orthodox Rabbis Vow To Resist Consent Forms for Controversial Circumcision Rite

Balk at New York City Health Rule on Metzitzah B'Peh

by Seth Berkman

The leading association for mohelim who practice a risky oral blood suctioning technique in their circumcisions has vowed not to cooperate with New York City’s new health regulations governing use of the technique, known as metzitzah b’peh.

Brooklyn mohel Rabbi Avrohom Cohn, chairman of the American Board of Ritual Circumcision, said his group would not have parents sign waiver forms, which the city is now requiring as a condition for performing metzitzah b’peh.

“He’s the mayor of the biggest city in the world, but I’m not going to listen to him,” Cohn said, referring to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has strongly backed the new rules. “I have another mayor, the Almighty, and I will do it His way.”

...

Failure by a mohel who practices metzitzah b’peh to produce the relevant signed consent forms on request is “a violation of the New York City Health Code,” the DOHMH said in a statement to the Forward. Violating that code can lead to “a range of penalties,” the department added, including fines up to $2,000.

Orthodox defenders of the practice have filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse Buchwald’s ruling, but that is pending.

...
Now that the DOHMH rule is enforced, Orthodox defenders of the practice appear to be split on how to respond. David Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel, an influential umbrella organization for ultra-Orthodox groups, said his organization has not issued any directive advising whether or not parents should sign the consent forms.
...
New York City council member Lewis Fidler told the Forward at that time that the regulation was “probably next to impossible to enforce.” Fidler said: “Will you have undercover agents at a bris? In the end this will probably be a regulation flagrantly violated.”

In its statement to the Forward, DOHMH said it had “no plans for continuous monitoring” of mohels. “DOHMH will request forms from mohelim when investigating neonatal herpes cases potentially caused by direct oral suction or when investigating complaints by parents about direct oral suction,” the statement said. [Fat lot of good it does a baby with herpes that his parents have given informed consent for him to be infected.]

Cohn said he was working with other mohelim to organize a “day of prayer” that would draw “millions of people” who believe “in the existence of God” to protest in front of Bloomberg’s office in City Hall.

“We’re working very hard, spending a fortune of money on this,” he said.

Niederman said he did not know of any planned protests and that official bodies involved in the lawsuit have never discussed such action.



Earlier story

NEW YORK: Metzitzah: Parental consent form

NYC 311
(January 22, 2013)

Circumcision Consent Form

Ritual Jewish circumcision with direct oral suctioning (metzitzah b'peh) can only be performed after a parent has given written permission.

The consent form needs to be signed by both the mohel and at least one parent.

Download the Circumcision Consent Form.

Consent to perform oral suction during circumcision Printed first and last name of individual performing circumcision:________________________________ Date of infant's birth (month/day/year): _________________________ I understand that direct oral suction will be performed on my child and that the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene advises parents that direct oral suction should not be performed because it exposes an infant to the risk of transmission of herpes simplex virus infection, which may result in brain damage or death. Printed first and last name of parent: __________________________________________ Signature of parent:________________________________________ Date of signature (month/day/year): ____________________________ A copy of this signed consent form shall be provided to the parent or legal guardian of the infant. [logo] NYC Health

[The mohel does not need to sign the form, or give any contact details. Only one parent needs to sign it, even if the other bitterly disagrees with metzitzah or even circumcision. The form is not kept on file anywhere. There is no mechanism for ensuring that either parent sees it or signs it.]

Earlier story

NEW YORK: Metzitzah: Judge rules parental consent may be required

the New York Times
January 10, 2013

Consent Rule May Proceed for a Circumcision Ritual

by Sharon Otterman

New York City health officials may proceed temporarily with a plan to require parental consent before an infant may undergo a particular Jewish circumcision ritual, a federal judge ruled Thursday.


City officials say 12 cases of herpes simplex virus have likely resulted from the procedure, known as metzitzah b’peh, since 2000, including one Brooklyn case reported this week. Two infants died, and two suffered permanent brain damage. Most Jews no longer practice metzitzah b’peh, in which the circumciser uses his mouth to suck blood from the wound, but it remains common among some ultra-Orthodox communities.

Citing the risk of infection, health officials in September introduced a regulation that would require parents to provide written consent stating that they were aware of the health risks.

But the Central Rabbinical Congress of the United States and Canada, Agudath Israel of America, and the International Bris Association sued in October to stop the rule from taking effect, calling it an infringement of their constitutional rights. They also denied the procedure posed a risk and asked a federal court to put the rule on hold while the litigation proceeded.

In denying the request for a preliminary injunction, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the United States District Court for the Southern District wrote that the risks were clear.

“In light of the quality of the evidence presented in support of the regulation, we conclude that a continued injunction against enforcement of the regulation would not serve the public interest,” she wrote.

City lawyers said they were gratified by the ruling, but Andrew Moesel, a spokesman for the plaintiffs, said the groups would appeal. “We continue to believe that this case is a wrongful and unnecessary intrusion into the rights of freedom of religion and speech,” he said.

Earlier story

NEW YORK: Metzitzah non-warning defended as freedom of speech

Not telling parents about the risks of sucking penises is freedom of speech now?

The New York Times
December 18, 2012

Lawyer Says Ritual Circumcision Is Protected Activity

by Russ Buettner

A lawyer for Orthodox Jewish groups asked a federal judge on Tuesday to throw out a New York City regulation requiring parents to sign a consent form before their infant sons undergo a form of Jewish ritual circumcision in which the circumciser uses his mouth to remove blood from the incision.

The lawyer, Shay Dvoretzky, said the practice, which is prevalent in parts of the ultra-Orthodox community, is a constitutionally protected religious activity. He said that requiring ritual circumcisers, known collectively as mohelim, to be involved in conveying the city’s perspective on the procedure would infringe upon their rights of free speech.

“That lies at the heart of First Amendment protection,” Mr. Dvoretzky said.

But a lawyer for the city argued that the regulation was necessary and that the practice most likely caused 11 herpes infections in infants between 2004 and 2011. Two of the infected babies died; at least two others suffered brain damage.

“The health department is not looking at the religion in determining what to do about this conduct,” said Michelle L. Goldberg-Cahn, a lawyer for the city. “The city is looking at the conduct.”

The Orthodox groups, including Agudath Israel of America and the Central Rabbinical Congress, sued the city in October to block the regulation, which was approved by the New York City Board of Health in September but is suspended until a ruling is issued in this case. The groups say that the procedure is safe and that the city has not definitively linked infections to the practice.

Infectious disease experts, several of whom filed briefs in support of the regulation, widely agree that the oral contact, known in Hebrew as metzitzah b’peh, creates a risk of transmission of herpes that can be deadly to infants because of their underdeveloped immune systems.

On Tuesday, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, of Federal District Court in Manhattan, heard oral arguments in the case, one that pits the sanctity of ancient religious rituals against the rigors of both modern medicine and secular government regulation [but not, so far, human rights]. She said her decision would come within a few weeks.

Her sharpest inquiries were directed at Mr. Dvoretzky, the lawyer for the Orthodox groups.

She raised a hypothetical situation in which a single religious group amputates left pinkie fingers at birth, and asked Mr. Dvoretzky whether the city would have the authority to regulate the activity. He said it would depend upon whether the practice caused immediate, serious harm. [Does anyone seriously argue that it wouldn't?]

Judge Buchwald also said there was a direct comparison to consent requirements placed on physicians when they perform a circumcision.

Mr. Dvoretzky called that an “apples and oranges” comparison, because a physician would not perform a metzitzah b’peh.

“Wait a second,” Judge Buchwald interrupted. “They can’t perform any circumcision without consent. It’s a surgery.” [She's on the brink of Getting It. Whose consent, when it is unnecessary surgery.]

Mr. Dvoretzky said the city should undertake a broad education campaign, to prevent all infant herpes infections.

But Judge Buchwald said such a campaign would have little impact, because the risk of infections is medically well-known.

NEW YORK: Metzitzah: Sandy causes delay in hearing injunction

Gestetner News
November 10, 2012

Due to Sandy 'Metziaza Be'Peh' Hearing Postponed, Injunction Extended

A Manhattan court has postponed a hearing against the new requirement that parents whose children undergo ritual Jewish circumcision in New York City sign a consent form before the “metzizah be’peh” aspect of the Jewish bris ceremony can be performed. The hearing, part of an action brought by rabbinical groups against the requirement, was delayed last weekend, the court said, because Hurricane Sandy has caused a backlog of cases, and the courts must dispose of old cases before starting new hearings. As a result, an injunction against the enactment of the consent rule has been extended.

The New York Board of Health and Mental Hygiene in September approved the regulation,
...

Earlier story

NEW YORK: Metzitzah: Rabbis granted delay in parental consent forms

Wall Street Journal
October 16, 2012

City's Circumcision Regulations Delayed

By Sean Gardiner
A city Department of Health regulation that would force rabbis to obtain written permission before performing a controversial circumcision won’t go into effect in several days as planned.

The city agreed to a brief stay in the enforcement of the regulation regarding the circumcisions–in which the mouth is used to remove blood from the incision wound–so that the plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit last week in Manhattan federal court can submit a motion for a preliminary injunction.

Under the regulation, the rabbi or other person performing the metzitzah b’ peh would need to obtain a signed permission form from parents of the infant warning that the procedure could expose their infant “to risk of transmission of herpes simplex virus infection or other infectious diseases.”

Since some of those who perform the ritual don’t agree with that warning, the lawsuit argues the regulation violates their constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of religion.

The implementation of the city’s regulation, originally set to begin Oct. 21, has been pushed back until Nov. 14, said Hank Sheinkopf, who is representing the groups that sued.

City health officials have argued that the practice has lead to 11 confirmed cases of infants contracting herpes simplex virus. Two of those babies died and two others suffered brain damage, city officials said. Some of the parents of those children were not aware that direct oral suction would be performed, city officials said.

The Health Department is working with the Law Department on a response that will be filed this month.

Earlier story

NEW YORK: Metzitzah: Rabbis file suit against parental consent forms

NY TImes
October 11, 2012

Suit Is Filed Over Move to Regulate Circumcision

By Marc Santora
Several Jewish groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to prevent New York City from enforcing a rule on circumcisions, arguing that the regulation would violate religious freedoms.

The city Board of Health passed a regulation in September that required written parental consent before a ritual circumcision could be done. In the procedure, common among ultra-Orthodox Jews, the person performing the circumcision uses his mouth to remove blood from the incision.

The oral contact, known in Hebrew as metzitzah b’peh, is considered dangerous by public health officials, because of the possibility of spreading diseases, specifically herpes. Failure to comply with the regulation could result in warnings and fines.

From 2000 to 2011, 11 babies contracted herpes, most likely as a result of the practice, and two of them died, according to the city’s health department. This spring, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also declared that the procedure created a risk for transmission of herpes and other pathogens, and was “not safe.”

In the lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, several rabbis and Jewish organizations — including Agudath Israel of America and the International Bris Association — argue that the practice has been used safely for thousands of years among Jews and that the regulations are unconstitutional.

“Not only is the Department of Health wrong about metzitzah b’peh, it is trying to enforce its erroneous opinions on the people of New York City,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a spokesman for the groups suing the city. “By essentially starting a public intimidation campaign that forces private citizens to spread the government’s beliefs, they are shaking the core of our democracy. We believe the courts will stop this overzealous government overreach and keep them out of our speech and religion.”

Dr. Thomas A. Farley, commissioner of the city health department, issued a statement on Thursday citing the danger posed by the procedures and arguing that the measures were necessary for public safety.

“The city’s highest obligation is to protect its children,” he said in the statement. [To fulfil that obligation it should age-restrict circumcision.] “The health department’s written consent requirement is lawful, appropriate and necessary.”

NEW YORK: Metzitzah; Board of Health unanimous - parents must be warned

The Jewish Daily Forward
September 13, 2012

N.Y. Board Orders Forms for Circumcision Rite

Health Officials Mandate Parental Consent for Metzitzah B'Peh
By Seth Berkman
 
The New York City board of health has voted unanimously to require parents to sign a consent form before allowing a mohel to perform metztizah b’peh, direct oral-genital suction during circumcision.
The vote was 9-0 to require parental consent for direct oral suction, a practice employed only by ultra-Orthodox mohels that can lead to transmission of a strain of herpes to which infants are especially vulnerable. Though transmission rates are believed to be low, If infected, babies can suffer brain damage or even death.

“We’re not banning the procedure, we’re not regulating how circumcisions are performed,” Jay K. Varma, deputy commissioner for disease control for the health department said after the meeting. “We’re simply requiring that people understand there is a risk, and if people want their baby to be circumcised, they have to understand that this procedure might potentially transmit an infection that is both serious as well as life threatening.”

There are no mandatory penalties imposed if the waivers are not signed. But the health commission may impose penalties at its own discretion. Varma said the department would respond to public complaints and investigate the claims, and that repercussions could range from a phone call or a formal warning letter, to fines of up to $2,000 for each violation.

...

Earlier story

NEW YORK: Metzitzah - lawsuit against consent forms?

JTA
September 11, 2012

Agudath Israel contemplating lawsuit against N.Y. over circumcision ritual

NEW YORK (JTA) -- Agudath Israel of America reportedly is planning to sue the city of New York if its health department passes a law requiring parental consent for the circumcision ritual known as metzitzah b'peh.

The New York Jewish Week reported the development based on an email forwarded to the news outlet sent originally from the account of Agudah's general counsel, Mordechai Biser. According to the e-mail, the haredi Orthodox group is seeking a New York law firm that would work pro bono or on “a reduced rate basis” to bring “a lawsuit against the City of New York to prevent the City from issuing a regulation that would require written parental consent for an aspect of bris milah (‘metzitzah b’peh’).”

The city is expected to pass the measure this week requiring parents to sign off before the direct oral suction procedure. ...

A statement by the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America on Monday noted that "Many Jewish legal authorities have ruled that direct oral suction is not an integral part of the circumcision ritual and advocate the use of a sterile tube to preclude any risk of infection." Like Agudah, however, the RCA expressed opposition to the proposed measure, citing "concern about government regulation of religious practices."

“There is no safe way to perform oral suction on any open wound in a newborn,” Samantha Levine, a spokeswoman for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, told The Jewish Week via e-mail Monday, citing leading medical authorities.

...

Earlier story
Video

NEW YORK: Metzitzah: Mohelim will defy "evil plan" to warn of risks

New York Post
September 2, 2012

Despite baby dying after getting herpes, Orthodox rabbis say they'll defy law on ancient circumcision ritual

By Kate Briquelet
Two children are dead, more are injured — yet a group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis say they plan to defy a health order in the name of religious freedom.

Less than a year after a Brooklyn tot died following an ancient circumcision ritual, the rabbis say they will ignore a proposed law that would mandate parental-consent forms before performing the dangerous procedure.

Over the past decade, at least one other newborn died after contracting herpes from the rite, in which the rabbi draws blood from the penis with his mouth.

But ultra-Orthodox leaders are lashing out at the city’s “evil plans” ahead of the Board of Health’s vote next week.

About 200 rabbis signed a proclamation claiming the Health Department “printed and spread lies . . . in order to justify their evil decree.”

“It is clear to us, that there is not even an iota of blame or danger in this ancient and holy custom,” the letter states.

Neonatal Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection After Jewish Ritual Circumcision: Modern Medicine and Religious Tradition by Benjamin Gesundheit, Galia Grisaru-Soen, David Greenberg, Osnat Levtzion-Korach, David Malkin, Martin Petric, Gideon Koren, Moshe D. Tendler, Bruria Ben-Zeev, Amir Vardi, Ron Dagan, and Dan Engelhard describes eight babies getting herpes 7.25 ± 2.5 days after being circumcised with Metzitzah b'peh. All four mohelim tested positive for HSV-1. - Pediarics (Vol. 114 No. 2 August 1, 2004 pp. e259 -e263)

Most modern mohels — men trained to perform religious circumcisions, who are usually rabbis or doctors — remove blood from the baby’s wound using a sterile pipette.
But some Orthodox Jewish parents insist on an ancient “suction by mouth” ritual called metzitzah b’peh.

The city’s law would require mohels to distribute consent waivers, detailing the herpes risk, before the ritual.

Rabbi David Niederman, executive director of the United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg, said no one will comply with the law, even if it’s passed.

“For the government to force a rabbi who’s practicing a religious act to tell his congregants it’s dangerous is totally unacceptable,” Niederman told The Post.

“You’re forcing the mohel and the parent to sign a piece of paper that contradicts their religious convictions.”

Niederman said there’s no substantive evidence linking herpes and the religious ritual.
Michael Tobman, a political consultant working with several large Hasidic communities, said the waiver is no minimal imposition.

“It warns parents that the city suggests a link between the practice and serious health worries, [and] it would undoubtedly have a chilling impact,” he said.

“City government shouldn’t be doing that.”

At least 11 babies in the city have contracted the herpes simplex virus since 2000 — and two developed brain damage and two died, according to a Health Department investigation.

In July, an Orange County infant was hospitalized after contracting a deadly strain of the virus.

Earlier this year, prosecutors were investigating the September 2011 death of a Brooklyn newborn at Maimonides Hospital from Type 1 herpes.

...

Earlier story

ISRAEL: Metzitzah; Paediatricians: "Stop sucking." Mohelim: "No."

Ynet News
August 10, 2012

Mohels protest restriction on 'suction' during circumcision

By Moshe Heller

Israel Ambulatory Pediatric Association calls to stop 'oral suction' technique used by cirmcisers during circumcision rite. Mohels: They're not after child's best interest; they're against circumcision'

The Israel Ambulatory Pediatric Association (IAPA) urged the Health Ministry to put a stop to the ritual of "oral suction" (metzitzah b'peh) which accompanies the Jewish rite of circumcision.

The suction technique was originally practiced as a way to prevent infection, and is perceived by Mohels who practice it as Halachic obligation.

Rabbi Chaim Moshe Weisberg, an esteemed mohel, told Ynet that haredim will continue to uphold the tradition without any change.

According to Weisberg, the recent controversy surrounding the custom is just an attempt to stop the ritual of circumcision altogether. "They're not after the child's best interest; they're against circumcision," Weisberg said adding that "They want all parents to stop circumcising their sons, as they did in Germany."

Weisberg, descendant of a family of mohels, is certain that the IAPA's battle against the "oral suction" technique will not prevail. "The cases of reported diseases, allegedly originating from the custom are very few – and even then they can't prove it was actually transferred from the mohel."

According to Rabbi Moshe Morciano, head of the Circumcision Division of the Chief Rabbinate, "the Rabbinate instructs mohels to consult the parents; those who are interested in the metzitzah b'peh should have it, and those who aren't – won't."

In 2006, the New York State Health Department suggested that parents sign a waiver if they want their newborn to undergo metzitzah b'peh after circumcision. Said suggestion, published in the New York Times, followed cases of neonatal herpes that were allegedly caused by oral suction.

Fearing the transfer of diseases, the IAPA proposes to replace the traditional practice of metzitzah b'peh, which calls for direct contact between the mohel's mouth and the circumcision wound, by using a tube or pipette to avoid direct contact.

Earlier story

NEW YORK: Metzitzah - Bloomberg won't back down to mohelim

City and State
July 25, 2012

Heard about town

* Bloomberg yesterday rebuffed rabbis’ threats of legal action if the city goes through with a proposal to restrict a controversial Orthodox Jewish circumcision procedure. “We have an obligation to keep people alive and safe and the courts have held that up repeatedly,” Bloomberg said yesterday at a press conference. “There are certain practices that doctors say are not safe and we will not permit those practices to the extent that we can stop them. You don’t have a right to put any child’s life in danger, and this clearly does.” His comments came in response to Orthodox rabbis who defended the controversial practice of “metzitzah b’peh” at a New York City Health Department public hearing this week. ...

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