Home
Share |

Articles

The Jewish Circumcision Debate: Celebrity Rabbi debates with the director of CUT

Jonathan Friedman

(NEW YORK, NY) — Celebrity Rabbi Shmuley Boteach debated the issue of circumcision with Jewish filmmaker Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon, creator of CUT: Slicing through the myths of circumcision, this past Monday at the Manhattan Jewish Experience in the Upper West Side section of Manhattan. Rabbi Boteach is the author of "Kosher Sex" and has appeared alongside celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jackson, and Christopher Hitchens.

Female genital mutilation laws to be toughened against families

New guidelines to target families that take young girls abroad to undergo female genital mutilation are being sent to prosecutors by the government.

Ministers want to encourage more action against those who inflict the brutal procedure on their children and relatives amid concerns that the current approach serves as little deterrent.

Human Rights Group Calls Upon UNAIDS and the World Health Organization to Tell the Truth: Circumcision Does Not Prevent HIV

The human rights group Intact America (IA) is exhibiting at the IAS 2011 conference in Rome, Italy, July 17-20, urging policy makers to halt male circumcision rollout, calling the plan exorbitant, dangerous and unethical.

OB/GYN chairman calls for end to "controversial" routine infant circumcision in OB/GYN profession

Jonathan Friedman

(NEW YORK, NY) — James F. Smith, M.D.  is calling on obstetricians and gynecologists to stop performing routine infant circumcision. Dr. Smith argues that infant circumcision belongs in the medical field of pediatrics, and that pediatricians are the ones who should be performing circumcision.

Bill would impose jail for female genital mutilation

LEGISLATION TO prevent female genital mutilation “is the first step to ensuring this practice does not take hold in Ireland”, Minister for Health Dr James Reilly has told the Dáil. Introducing the Bill, he described the practice of the partial or total removal of external female genitalia as a “gross violation of women’s human rights”.

The Other Side Of The Circumcision Debate

BOSTON (RNS) The ballot question in San Francisco to ban infant circumcision has stimulated a wave of discussion about religious liberty and parental choice, but the more general question of the advisability of circumcision is mostly avoided.

Report: High prevalence of female genital mutilation in Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa

Jonathan Friedman

(NEW YORK, NY) — UN Women has published their first report on the progress and remaining inequalities for women around the world. Progress of the World's Women: In Pursuit of Justice, cites a 91% prevalence of FGM in Egypt, as well as similarly high prevalence figures for FGM in many sub-Saharan countries.

Jewish Circumcision Critics Integral in National Circumcision Debate

Rebecca Wald

April 25: A story in The Jerusalem Report, entitled “Challenging the Circumcision Myth: A Movement to Challenge or at Least Question Circumcision Includes Many Jews” notes that many “leading activists against circumcision around the country are Jewish,” including Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., Miriam Pollack, Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon, Laurie Evans and Mark Reiss, M.D., and author Lisa Braver-Moss.

CUT - Some Wounds Never Heal

The school summer holidays are approaching, bringing an increased risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) to over 6000 young girls in London. The Metropolitan Police Service, in partnership with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Kids Taskforce, is today, Monday 4 July, launching a new teaching resource to help tackle this form of child abuse.

The pack will be launched in South London and will see the first showing of 'Cut - Some Wounds Never Heal' a film by the Kids Taskforce and pupils at Lilian Baylis Technology School, Kennington. The hard-hitting film features model, author and human rights activist Waris Dirie, ITV's Dr Hilary Jones and other experts in dealing with FGM.

Uguandan President warns against male circumcision as an HIV prevention method

The Ugandan President cautioned Ugandans not to consider male circumcision as the remedy and automatic control of HIV/AIDS infection.

Intact America supporters march for genital integrity at NYC Pride parade

Jonathan Friedman

Genital integrity activists marched under the banner of Intact America during  last Sunday's NYC Pride parade as an estimated 2 million people watched from the sidelines.

Report: 89.2% Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation in Upper Egypt

Jonathan Friedman

South African Medical Association denounces circumcision of infants

Jonathan Friedman

(NEW YORK, NY) — The South African Medical Association sent a letter response last week to NOCIRC-SA—the South African chapter of the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers— denouncing male infant circumcision as "unethical"and "illegal." The letter was signed by Ms. Ulundia Berhtel, head of the Human Rights, Law & Ethics unit, and Obo Chairperson of the Human Rights, Law & Ethics Committee.

WHO recommends intact for men who have sex with men and transgender people

The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners released new guidelines this month suggesting that male circumcision was not a viable HIV prevention method for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people.

These WHO guidelines contain new public health recommendations to help policymakers and doctors scale up access to treatment and prevention services for HIV and sexually transmitted infections among MSM and transgender people. These are the first global public health guidelines to focus on these specific population groups.

Indonesia urged to ban female circumcision

Women's rights activists called on the government to withdraw a decree issued by the health ministry in November authorising certain medical professionals to carry out the procedure on baby girls.

"We are very disappointed with the minister's decision. Circumcision is a form of abuse of women," said Aditiana Dewi Eridani of the Islam and Women's Rights Information Centre today.

"This is a backward step for women's rights protection in this country."

To cut or not to cut?

When Russell Crowe apologized for tweeting that “circumcision is barbaric and stupid,” a lot of us were left wondering not only why his opinion on this issue constituted news, but also why he felt the need to apologize. Certainly, he expressed himself without tact, but that’s just Crowe, right?

Unkindest cut: Medicaid won’t cover circumcision in Colorado

ADL Joins In San Francisco Lawsuit Challenging Anti-Circumcision Ballot Initiative

San Francisco, CA, June 22, 2011 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today joined with a group of community organizations, doctors and Jewish and Muslim families in San Francisco in a lawsuit challenging a November ballot initiative that seeks to criminalize the circumcision of males under the age of 18.

A Message to Jewish Americans on Circumcision

Our core principles are simple and unambiguous: infants are people; their bodies belong to them alone.

Feds, state may snip proposed circumcision ban

Opponents of the measure have accused the effort of being anti-Semitic. A group of religious leaders and politicians are denouncing the effort as an infringement on religious freedoms.

Rep. Brad Sherman will introduce bill outlawing city circumcision bans

“Religious freedom is a federal issue, and medical practice is a state issue, maybe a federal issue as well,” Sherman said today. “Neither of them is in the proper realm of cities.”

Time to ban male circumcision?

San Francisco voters will decide later this year whether, like its female counterpart, male infant circumcision should be outlawed. If passed, article 50 — the "Genital Cutting of Male Minors" — would make it unlawful to circumcise, cut, or mutilate the foreskin, testicles, or penis of another person aged under 18. The bill includes an exemption for cases of medical necessity, but not for custom or ritual, which has profound implications for the many Jews and Muslims who consider it an essential part of their religious or cultural practice.