Jews and Muslims in Berlin demonstrated for the right to carry out ritual circumcisions, a right that has been endangered in Germany.

Under the slogan “On Knife’s Edge: Religious Freedom,” some 300 demonstrators rallied Saturday at Bebelplatz, the site of the 1933 Nazi book burnings, to protest the May ruling in a Cologne court that makes non-medical circumcision of minor boys a commission of the crime of bodily injury.

They also were protesting a legal solution offered by the Berlin State Ministry of Justice that would allow ritual circumcisions only by medical practitioners. Jewish and Muslim leaders have vehemently rejected the solution, as have organizations dedicated to child protection. The latter has vowed to fight the ruling to the German Supreme Court if necessary in order to protect the rights of children to remain unharmed.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

According to the Berlin Morgenpost newspaper, the former head of Berlin’s Jewish community, Lala Susskind, said at the demonstration over the weekend that “there must be a law securing the right to circumcision” by a mohel, or ritual circumciser. She said the Berlin ruling, which would require parents to identify their religion and request a medical practitioner, was unacceptable. In Germany, Susskind said, a Jew should not have to identify his or her religion to the authorities.

The director of the American Jewish Committee office in Berlin, Deidre Berger, issued a statement last week decrying the solution offered by the Berlin Ministry of Justice.

“It is illogical that practitioners are legally liable for a procedure recommended by the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics. A third of the world’s male population is circumcised,” Berger said in a statement.

“We are shocked that the Berlin Justice Ministry ignored the advice of AJC and other Jewish organizations, and instead chose to turn a 4000-year-old religious ritual into a criminal offense.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount