Israel Mother Fined $140 a Day for Refusing To Circumcize Son
The Jerusalem rabbinical court has upheld a ruling requiring an Israeli mother to circumcise her son or pay a fine of $140 a day until he has his brit milah.
The court in its decision issued Sunday upheld the decision made by a Netanya rabbinical court on Oct. 29, which ruled that the mother must have her son circumcised within a week.
The baby, who was born a year ago, was not circumcised on the eighth day due to medical problems, according to the Times of Israel.
The father decided to insist that the boy be circumcised when the couple began divorce proceedings in rabbinical court, Haaretz reported.
“I started reading about what actually happens in circumcision, and I realized that I couldn’t do that to my son. He’s perfect just as he is,” the mother, identified as Elinor, told Haaretz. She said she would take the case to Israel’s Supreme Court, which is a secular court.
The Jerusalem rabbinical court judges indicated in their decision that the mother could be withholding the procedure “as a tool to make headway in the divorce struggle,” according to Haaretz.
“We have been seeing public and legal fights against circumcision in the United States and Europe for quite some time,” the judges also wrote, according to Haaretz. “The public in Israel stands united against this phenomenon, seeing it as another aspect of the anti-Semitic acts that must be fought.”
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