Israel

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According to Scripture, God gave the land of Canaan to Israel.[1]

The nation of Israel was reborn in Canaan in 1948 as foretold by the prophet Ezekial in Ezekial 37.[2] It was to be a "national home for the Jewish people".[3] David Ben-Gurion affixed the first signature to the Declaration of Independence (1948).[4]

Hebrew, the long dead language of the Jews, was revived and is the official language, although English is also widely spoken. Arabic is a secondary language.

The population of Israel is nearly 10,000,000. Jews constitute 73 percent, Muslims constitute 18 percent and the balance is of various other faiths. Of the Jews, 49 percent self-identify as secular.

Contents

Circumcision in Israel

Circumcision in the news

The Jerusalem Post (2006) reported that haredi extremists had formed a "circumcision ring" to carry out illegal circumcisions on Russian teenagers who had not been circumcised.[5]

The Israeli Ambulatory Paediatric Association (2012) said "that direct oral-genital suction, known as metzitzah b’peh, should not be performed during Jewish ritual circumcision."[6]

Haretz (2012) published an article that said "more and more Israeli parents choose not to circumcise."[7] Reuters (2012) reported that increasing numbers of "Israeli parents are saying no to circumcision." Some fear it is a form of "physical abuse". Discussion of circumcision is said to be "taboo". Ronit Tamir, the founder and executive director of KAHAL, said, "The phenomenon is growing, I have no doubt. When we started the group 12 years ago we had to work hard to find 40 families ... They were keeping it secret and we had to promise them we'd keep it secret. Then, we'd get one or two phone calls a month. Nowadays I get dozens of emails and phone calls a month, hundreds a year."[8]

The Times of Israel (2014) reported Jewish actress Alicia Silverstone is "among those Jews advocating against circumcision."[9]

The Times of Israel (2014) reported that the High Court overturned a Rabbinical Court decision that would have forced a woman to have a boy circumcised. The High Court stated that the Rabbinical Court "lacked the jurisdiction to force the procedure."[10]

Avraham Burg, writing in Haaretz (2014), asked, "Is this the generation that rejects circumcision?"[11]

The Forward (2018) reported that circumcision rates are slipping as more secular parents favor "intactness".[12]

Haaretz (2019) reported that Jewish men from Russia who were circumcised in Israel now regret their decision to be circumcised.[13] Remennick (2021) reported lingering trauma among former Soviet Jews who were circumcised in Israel and who now regret their decision for both aesthetic and sexual reasons.[14]

Complication of circumcision procedure

The Jerusalem Post (2020) reported:

A three-weeks-old baby is currently in serious condition at the Bnei Zion Medical Center in Haifa due to a herpetic infection, which began in the genital area and has spread to the brain, leading to convulsions and seizures.

Laboratory tests found that the infant likely contracted the Type 1 herpes virus during his brit, directly from the mohel, who performed the ceremony using the controversial Orthodox method of blood cleaning known as "Metzitzah B'Peh," or oral suction.

Director of Pediatrics at Bnei Zion Medical Center, Prof. Itzhak Sarugo, said that "the baby was hospitalized in serious condition, with a visible inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) accompanied by prolonged convulsions and a severe skin infection that started in the groin area where the circumcision was performed."[15]

The Jerusalem Post (2022) reported "A baby was rushed to the hospital in northern Israel on Monday after his circumcision went wrong, with his genitals being almost completely amputated during a brit mila — a Jewish ritual circumcision, Israeli media reported. The mohel was later found to be uncertified and did not undergo required training.[16]

Loss of sexual sensation

Many intact Jewish men migrated to Israel after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They were circumcised as adults, but found that the adult circumcision resulted in a substantial loss of sensation and sexual pleasure.[17] The Jerusalem Post (2023) has expressed some concern about loss of sexual sensation after loss of the foreskin by circumcision.[18]

Statistics

Judaism and Islam require circumcision, however not all Jews and Muslims actually follow the teachings of their religion. Haaretz (2021) reported that many Israeli parents are not circumcising their sons.[19]

Based on data collected prior to 2016, the percentage of males of all ages circumcised in Israel (prevalence) was reported to be 91.7%,[20] however this figure was derived by totaling the number of Jews and Muslims in the population. It overstates the percentage of boys circumcised by an unknown amount since not all Jews and Muslims circumcise their boys.[19]

The Jerusalem Post (2024) reports, "Only seven medical circumcisions had been performed since April 2023, according to data presented to the Knesset."[21]

Ritual circumcision and urinary tract infection in Israel

Several medical articles have reported urinary tract infection (UTI) in Israel after ritual circumcision.[22][23][24][25]

Prais et al. (2009) reported that a boy is 2.8 times more likely to get a UTI when circumcised by a mohel as compared to when circumcised by a physician.[24]

The urethra of girls is shorter than that of boys, so it is normal for girls to have more urinary tract infections than boys. Marild & Jodal (1998), working in Sweden, reported an incidence of UTI in girls of 6.6% in the first six years of life, while boys had an incidence of 1.8%.[26] However, in Israel, with respect to Jewish boys, the situation is reversed with more UTI in boys as compared with girls. Toker et al. (2010) reported an incidence of UTI in Jewish boys of 24.7% as compared to girls with 8.4%.[25]

Regret parents

Bar-Yaakov et al. (2022) reported that 28 percent of parents in Tel Aviv regreted a decision to have a revision to their son's circumcision.[27]

Circumcision death

Facebook groups

Intactivist groups

There are several intactivist groups that oppose the the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision.

Videos

Jewish circumcision: Cutting with tradition

Alon Sivroni vs. circumcision

Israeli mother promotes keeping boys intact

Alon Sivroni protests against Genital Mutilation in Israel

Just The Tip: Cutting Through The Taboo Of Opposing Circumcision

Alon Sivroni Banned From Tel Aviv Pride Parade For Opposing Circumcision

Infant circumcision procedure

This is a video of an actual infant circumcision. It has a sound tract so one can hear the comments of the doctor and the sounds made by the infant. The doctor gives an injection of local anesthetic that apparently does not stop any pain at all. The infant goes silent at about 6:15 on the video, so he may have gone into shock at that time. Not for the squeamish:

Mantor Restorer

The Mantor Restorer, a foreskin restoration device, is manufactured in Israel.

Censorship in Israel

Discussion of the practice of circumcision is likely to be censored. Alon Sivroni was banned from the Tel Aviv Pride Parade for opposing circumcision. This is likely to occur when many men are in denial of loss to circumcision.

Homosexuality in Israel

Yoni Leviatan (2015) claims "Israel is the gayest country on earth."[28] Tel Aviv, which may be the most circumcised city, also calls itself "the most gay friendly city in the world."[29]

(Numerous researchers have reported observing an association of homosexuality with male circumcision.)

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑   (1995). Numbers 13:1-2, NET. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  2. ↑   Ezekial 37, Bible Gateway. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  3. ↑   Balfour, Arthur: Balfour Declaration  , Foreign Office. (2 November 1917). Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  4. ↑   The Declaration of Independence, Israel State Archives. (14 May 1948). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  5. ↑   Lefkovit, Edgar (28 July 2024)."Wanted haredi extremists flee country", 2006-10-09, Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
    Quote: The haredi zealots allegedly performed the illicit circumcisions on the 16-17-year-old youths in a private city apartment in exchange for presents and without the consent of their parents.
  6. ↑   Anonymous (12 August 2012)."Israeli pediatric association calls for end to circumcision-related rite", The Times of Israel. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
    Quote: It is calling on Israel’s Health Ministry to require maternity wards and clinics to advise parents against metzitzah b’peh, Israeli media are reporting.
  7. ↑   Ahutuv, Netta (14 June 2012). Even in Israel, more and more parents choose not to circumcise their sons, Haaretz. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  8. ↑   Lubell, Maayan (28 November 2012)."In Israel, some rebel against circumcision", Reuters. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
    Quote: "It's such a taboo in Israel and in Judaism,"
  9. ↑   Dónzis, Aron (4 May 2014)."Alicia Silverstone nixes circumcision", The Times of Israel. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  10. ↑   Newman, Marissa (29 June 2014)."High Court rules against coerced circumcision", The Times of Israel. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
    Quote: In the case in question, a woman in the midst of divorce proceedings opposed the circumcision of her son on the grounds that it was a form of mutilation.
  11. ↑   Burg, Avraham (30 August 2014)."Is This the Generation That Rejects Circumcision?", Haaretz. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  12. ↑   Gradstein, Linda (15 January 2018)."Circumcision Rates Are Slipping — Even In Israel", Forward. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
    Quote: Those making this decision are still in the minority and said they came under tremendous pressure from their families to have the baby circumcised for reasons of tradition, if not religion.
  13. ↑   Glazer, Hilo (7 December 2019)."They Felt Pressured to Get Circumcised After Moving to Israel. They Now Regret It", Haaretz. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
    Quote: “I didn’t take into account that I would be losing feeling or that sex would be less good. Even after I noticed the damage, it took me time to make the connection. It came up in conversations with the woman who is today my wife and who by training is a psychologist and a sexologist – and not a Jew, by the way. When we first started dating, she asked me why I had done it, and I told her. Since then she laughs at me occasionally and says that if I hadn’t undergone that nonsense, I would have greater enjoyment.”
  14. ↑   Remennick L. Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath. Cult Health Sex. 29 January 2021; 24(5): 702-16. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  15. ↑   Zonshine, Idan (28 June 2020)."3-week-old baby hospitalized with brain infection after brit gone wrong". Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  16. ↑   Anonymous (6 September 2022)."Israeli baby requires complex surgery after circumcision gone wrong", The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
    Quote: "We don't know exactly how it happened, but the baby is suffering from an almost complete amputation of his genitals," Asadi told N12. "This is a shocking case and the injury is very serious."
  17. ↑   Remennick L. Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath  . Cult Health Sex. May 2022; 24(5): 702-16. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
    Quote: Although opinions differed, the majority in this small survey said that the exposure of glans penis gradually lowered sensitivity, reducing pleasure both in intercourse and masturbation. In hindsight, many informants regretted their consent to undergo brit under social pressure.
  18. ↑   Blum, Brian (6 October 2023)."Should Jewish males be circumcised? - comment", Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  19. ↑ a b   Ahituv, Netta (14 June 2021)."Even in Israel, More and More Parents Choose Not to Circumcise Their Sons", Haaretz. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
    Quote: The survey also found that nearly a third of the parents would prefer to forgo circumcision but nevertheless have it done for social reasons ‏(16.6 percent‏), health reasons ‏(10.4 percent‏) and because it is important for the grandparents ‏(2.1 percent‏).
  20. ↑   (1 April 2024). Global Circumcision Statistics and Estimates, https://circstatistics.github.io. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  21. ↑   Starr, Michael (7 February 2024)."Conversion crisis: Israeli gov't circumcision tender delay leaves 100 in 'torture'", The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  22. ↑   Cohen HA, Drucker MM, Vainer S, Ashkenazi A, Amir J, Frydman M, Varsano L. Postcircumcision Urinary Tract Infection. Clin Pediatr (Phila). June 1992; 31(6): 322-4. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  23. ↑   Goldman M, Barr J, Bistritzer, T, Aladjem M. Urinary tract infection following ritual Jewish circumcision. Isr J Med Sci. November 1996; 32(11): 1098-102. PMID. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  24. ↑ a b   Prais D, Shoov-Furman R, Amir J. Is ritual circumcision a risk factor for neonatal urinary tract infections?. Arch Dis Child. March 2009; 94(3): 191-4. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  25. ↑ a b   Toker O, Schwartz S, Segal G, Godovitch N, Schlesinger Y, Raveh D. A costly covenant: ritual circumcision and urinary tract infection  . Isr Med Assoc J. May 2010; 12(5): 262-5. PMID. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  26. ↑   Marild S, Jodal U. Incidence rate of first-time symptomatic urinary tract infection in children under 6 years of age. Acta Paediatr. May 1998; 87(5): 549-52. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  27. ↑   Bar-Yaakov N, Mano R, Ekstein M, Savin Z, Dekalo S, Ben-Chaim J, Bar-Yosef Y. Parental regret following decision to revise circumcision. Front Pediatr. 9 March 2022; PMID. PMC. DOI. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  28. ↑   Leviatan, Yoni (12 June 2015)."Israel is the gayest country on earth", The Times of Israel. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  29. ↑   Anonymous (8 June 2018)."Over 250,000 revelers flood Tel Aviv for Israel’s biggest ever Gay Pride parade", The Times of Israel. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
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