A new study from Canada indicates a possible connection between male circumcision and a lower likelihood of prostate cancer. The study, published in the British urology journal BJU International, was based on interviews with more than 3,000 men in the Montreal area between the ages of 40 and 75. The study’s authors found that men…
The leading rabbi of Agudath Israel of America, the ultra-Orthodox umbrella group, condemned non-Orthodox streams of Judaism and called the religiously progressive Open Orthodox movement heretical at the group’s annual gala. “The Torah must be guarded from the secular forces that seek to corrupt its values and the lives of [Jews], from intruders who sometimes…
There are few reported complications after boys are circumcised during their first year of life, but the risk rises considerably if the procedure is performed later in childhood, according to a new analysis published on Monday. Previous research found wide variations in the rates of complications following male circumcisions. Those studies were often small and…
Judaism has long had an uncomfortable relationship with rationality. On the one hand, our talmudic sages, classically influenced philosophers, and secular scientists and doctors have all taken rational reasoning to great, sometimes dizzying heights. Ours is a tradition of law, education and logic. Yet on the other hand, many aspects of Judaism – like most…
Someone should have told Alicia Silverstone that once your claim to fame is a movie called “Clueless,” it’s probably a good idea to avoid spouting real-life clueless rhetoric. In her her new book, “The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning,” the…
The human rights officer of the Council of Europe criticized members of his own organization who called ritual circumcision of boys a violation of children’s rights. Philippe Boillat, director general of human rights and legal affairs of the Council of Europe — an intergovernmental organization with no executive powers, leveled the criticism Monday during a…
New York City has denied a second attempt by the Jewish Daily Forward to obtain information about consent forms gathered under a regulation that warns parents about metzitzah b’peh, a controversial circumcision rite. The city also refuses to say whether such forms even exist. A regulation that came into force at the beginning of 2013…
Hey, Mr. Mayor! When you were the public advocate of the City of New York — an office with little more than a megaphone — you criticized city agencies for failing to respond to Freedom of Information Law requests. Government, you said, must be held accountable! Now, Mr. de Blasio, you’re the mayor, and it’s…
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