FailedMessiah.com

Israel’s High Court Rules Rabbinical Courts Overstepped Their Authority To Try To Force Mother To Circumcise Her Toddler

In a dramatic 6-1 ruling, Israel’s High Court of Justice removed the case of a divorcing couple and the fight over their baby’s circumcision from the state rabbinical courts, prompting an explosion of condemnation and anger from haredim.

Haredim Fear Dangerous Circumcision Rite Could Be Banned In Israel

Haredim are worried that the Yesh Atid Party will be moving to ban or limit metzitzah b’peh (MBP), the direct mouth-to-bloody-penis sucking done (primarily by haredi and religiously right wing Zionist Orthodox) mohels after cutting off the baby’s foreskin.

Female Circumcision Likely Began As A Means To Ward Off Vaginal Infections And Diseases Where Water Was Scarce, New Research Seems To Show

New research conducted for the  Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) has reportedly found that female circumcision, known more commonly in the West as female genital mutilation (FGM), is prevalent in areas of the country where water resources are lacking and that FGM may have begun as a means of warding off vaginal infections.

Picture Of The Day: The World's Oldest Known Depiction Of Circumcision

The world's oldest known depiction of circumcision is this 4,400-year-old bas relief from Egypt.

Anti-Semitic Billboard Features Depiction Of Haredi Circumcision Practice

An anti-Semitic gas station billboard featuring a depiction of metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the direct mouth-to-bloody-penis suction done by haredi mohels after cutting off the baby's foreskin, has caused locals to complain to the city to try to get the billboard – which is surrounded by other anti-Semitic material – removed.

The New York Times Calls Out NYC Mayor Over Hateful Remarks Against Non-Orthodox And Open Orthodox Jews

Michael Powell of the New York Times has written a column about the Novominsker Rebbe Rabbi Yaakov Perlow's hateful rant against Open Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews which Perlow delivered Tuesday night at the Agudath israel of America fundraising dinner in front of several politicians – including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio – and those politicians disgraceful silence.

Haredi Leader Calls Open Orthodoxy, Non-Orthodox Judaism Heresy As NYC Mayor Watches And Says Nothing

The Novominsker Rebbe Rabbi Yaakov Perlow is the head of Agudath Israel of America. At Agudah's dinner last night, Perlow called Open Orthodoxy and non-Orthodox Jewish movements heretical and called on Modern Orthodoxy to join with Agudah to combat them. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke immediately after Perlow. But de Blasio said nothing in defense of the liberal Jews who helped elect him.

JTA Names Mohel To Top Mohels List Who Said Alleged Child Sex Abuse Can't Be Reported To Police Unless Haredi Rabbis Approve

Peysach Krohn said that unless you are 100% sure the abuse took place (which essentially means you have to witness it happening), you should ask a rabbi for permission to call police. Even so, the JTA named him to their top mohels in America list.

Owned By Satmar? New York City’s Mayor Stonewalls On Dangerous Haredi Circumcision Practice

City refuses to share public records on enforcement of the city's informed consent requirement or answer questions about it. The city's new mayor, Bill de Blasio, promised Satmar he would abolish the requirement in exchange for their bloc votes. The promise was caught on video, but de Blasio denied it was true. Now it seems it really is.

Circumcision: Leading Haredi Mohel Refuses To Comply With New York City’s Informed Consent Requirement, City Apparently Does Nothing

Cohn called the city’s claims that MBP transmits herpes a “blood libel.” He also insists that he will never get written consent from parents performing it. “If they want me to go to jail, I will go to jail,” Cohn reportedly said.

World Jewish Congress Issues Deceptive Misleading Statement To UN On Shechita And Circumcision

"…Judaism was the first culture to teach that animals, and even plants, should be treated with respect, at a time when humanity had not begun to think in terms of animal rights. Quite conveniently, some prefer to ignore the origin of the values they claim to defend. If opponents of shechita really cared about animals, they would have banned, for example, the cooking of live seafood in pots of boiling water; they would have banned force-feeding of geese and ducks; they would have banned hunting for sport. But they did not. Instead they chose to attack ritual slaughter.…"

Israel’s Interior Ministry Refuses To Recognize Conversions Done By Leading Haredi Beit Din

A woman who was converted to Judaism by Rabbi Nissim Karelitz’s haredi beit din (religious court) must re-convert, Israel's Interior Ministry says, and her two-year-old son must have a second brit milah (circumcision) called a hatafat dam brit, in which a drop of blood will be drawn from his penis at the point where the foreskin was one attached. The woman will have to re-immerse in a mikva (ritual bath) completely nude, with three male rabbinic judges supervising the immersion and watching. Otherwise, neither will be registered as Jews, the ministry said.

Israel’s AG Backs Mother Who Refused To Circumcise Her Baby

“The [High Rabbinical] court exceeded its authority when it ordered the circumcision of a toddler who is more than one year old, and therefore the petition [against the High Rabbinical Court by the child’s mother] should be accepted.…It is doubtful whether the [High Rabbinical] court's decision was based on the principle of the child's welfare.…The petition against the rabbinical court should be accepted, because the rabbinical court exceeded its authority,” Israel's Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein wrote in a brief filed with the High Court of Justice Tuesday.

New Case Of Infant Herpes Transmitted By Metzitzah B'Peh

"…In January 2014, the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene received a report of a new case of HSV-1 infection in a newborn male infant following direct orogenital suction. To date, a total of 14 laboratory-confirmed cases of HSV-infection attributable to direct orogenital suction have been reported to the Health Department since 2000. Two of these infants died, and at least two others suffered brain damage.…"

Haredi Mohels' Group Backs Mohel Who Cut Off Baby's Penis

The suit says Rabbi Mordechai Rosenberg (pictured at right) "suffered from an impairment of his ability to think and process thoughts clearly" and recklessly failed to use the shield normally employed to protect against catastrophic injury. Mr. Rosen said Rabbi Rosenberg severed the organ and that the boy's grandfather, himself a doctor, immediately called Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and alerted them to assemble a reconstructive surgery team.

Doctors In Sweden And Denmark Call For A Ban On Infant Ritual Circumcision

“We are not religious experts, but for medical reasons we cannot approve a procedure that removes tissue from the genitals [for non-medical reasons] in which the risk is so great for serious complications.”

Video: De Blasio Says He Wants To Change Informed Consent Circumcision Requirement In Consultation With Haredim

New York City's new mayor, Bill de Blasio, says he wants to change the city's informed consent requirement for Jewish ritual circumcisions involving metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the direct mouth-to-bleeding-penis suction done by haredi mohels immediately after removing the baby’s foreskin and the membrane beneath it.

New NYC Commissioner Of Health Says Circumcision Informed Consent Requirement Will Remain In Place

New York City’s newly appointed Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary Travis Bassett said today that the city’s informed consent requirement for metzitzah b’peh (MBP – the direct mouth-to-bleeding-penis suction done by haredi mohels immediately after removing the baby’s foreskin and the membrane beneath it) will remain in place.

Infant Has Right To Be Circumcised Against Mother’s Wishes, Rabbis’ Attorney Says

"The petitioner is not doing a good thing, demanding to instill in her toddler a feeling of being an outsider that could cause him to feel inferior and to suffer serious emotional harm. The petitioner is not looking out for the boy's best interest. It is the child's right not to be different from his circumcised friends.…"

Haredi Mohel Who Cut Off Baby’s Penis Says It Wasn’t His Fault, Refuses To Admit Guilt Or Pay For The Baby’s Injury

Rabbi Mordechai Rosenberg says it is not his fault that a baby boy’s penis was severed during a bris (Jewish ritual circumcision) he did in Pittsburgh on April 28. And that’s some claim because Rosenberg is the mohel (Jewish ritual circumciser) who performed the bris – in “a careful and competent fashion,” Rosenberg insists.

Haredi Mohel Amputates Baby's Penis During Bris

Rabbi Mordechai Rosenberg amputated the baby boy's penis during a bris in Pittsburgh about 8 months ago – and is still regularly doing unregulated circumcisions.

Israel’s High Court Puts Hold On Rabbinical Court’s Decision To Force Woman To Circumcise Her Son

Israel's highest court has issued an temporary injunction that puts a hold on a state rabbinical court's ruling that ordered a woman in divorce proceedings to circumcise her one-year-old son and fined her 500 shekels ($142) for every day she refuses to do so.

Haredi Mohel Botches Bris, Causes “Life-Changing Injury” To Child

The boy’s parents “witnessed the entire gruesome and torturous event” and rushed their son to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Children's Hospital for emergency reconstructive surgery. The child also had to have leech therapy.

Famous Chabad Mohel Allegedly Botched Bris, Permanently Damaged Child

Rabbi Eliyahu Shain, a famous Crown Heights-based Chabad rabbi-mohel, allegedly botched the circumcision of a child, causing that child "great physical pain and mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life” and permanent damage.

Haredi Rabbi Says Not Sucking Baby's Penis At Circumcision Heresy, Part 2

For those very of few of you who were too dishonest to admit the truth last week, here's more proof that Rabbi Moshe Meiselman – the haredi nephew of Rabbi J.B. Soleveichik who falsely claims what he teaches are his uncle's positions and understandings of Jewish law – is dishonest.

Not Sucking Baby's Penis After Removing Foreskin Is Heresy, Haredi Rabbi Says

According to Rabbi Moshe Meiselman…whenever Chazal make a statement about realia, and do not indicate that they are speaking tentatively, then they are correct, and to doubt them is heresy. Rabbi Meiselman thus states, with regard to metzitzah [b'peh, the direct mouth-to-penis sucking haredi mohels do after cutting off the baby's foreskin] (pp. 239-40), that "Chazal's assessment overrides that of modern medicine," because "Chazal understood the situation better than the physicians." He stresses that "we rely upon their judgment unswervingly, even if medical opinion says otherwise.…[Therefore,] the mohel must suction the wound in a traditionally prescribed manner [with his mouth]."

Breslov Hasidim Fly Days Old Infants To Uman To Circumcise Them On Rabbi Nachman’s Grave, Sparking Outrage, Concern

Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, a Stoliner hasid who has served as chief rabbi of Ukraine for about 23 years, also reportedly attacked the new Breslov custom. “I don’t understand why people would bring a baby to a rabbi’s grave for brit milah. It’s just bizarre,” he reportedly said.

Ethically Challenged New York City Councilman Proposes Bill To Forbid City From Regulating Dangerous Circumcision Practice

“This is one of the most outrageous examples of government intruding into the ability of residents to freely practice their religion without restrictions based on questionable findings. I continue to be outraged that the city took this incredibly misguided step last year, and will fight until the board reverses its decision or this bill becomes law. It is imperative that every citizen, regardless of their particular religion, be able to practice and worship without the fear of being restricted or targeted by their own government…"

UPDATED: Bill De Blasio Promises Satmar That In Exchange For Votes, He Will Repeal Informed Consent For Dangerous Haredi Circumcision Practice

In the open and caught on video, New York City mayoral candidate Bill De Blasio promised the Aharonite Satmar faction that he will repeal the city's informed consent requirement for metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the dangerous direct mouth-to-bleeding-penis sucking done by haredi mohels after removing the baby's foreskin. MBP has killed thousands of babies – two in NYC during the past decade – and caused brain damage in many others and maimed many, many more.

Munkatcher Rebbe And Mayoral Candidate Bill Thompson Discuss Dangerous Haredi Circumcision Practice

Haredi leaders, including the Munkatcher Rebbe, vehemently oppose this informed consent requirement – not because they think it is too weak, but because they do not think it should exist at all. The Munkatcher Rebbe and other haredi rabbinic leaders argue that MBP is not harmful to babies – despite copious scientific evidence and historical proof to the contrary.

[Updated With Video] In Exchange For More Than 10,000 Satmar Bloc Votes, Bill Thompson Promises Satmar To "Revisit" Dangerous Haredi Circumcision Practice

As Satmar power-broker Rabbi David Niederman gave his NYC mayoral endorsement to Bill Thompson, promising Thompson more than 10,000 Satmar votes, Thompson responded by promising Satmar that he would help them on the metzitzah b'peh (MBP) issue, the direct mouth-to-bloody-penis-sucking done (primarily) by haredi mohels after cutting off the baby's foreskin and removing it and the membrane beneath it.

Nathan Lewin Says NYC’s Demand For Informed Consent Before Controversial Haredi Ritual Circumcision Practice Is Reasonable

"It seems to me that it is not unreasonable, even in the area of religious observance, for the city to require parents to sign a form that says that their eight day old baby can have this controversial procedure performed on them. Given the [medical] allegations [against MBP] and history this is a reasonable requirement on the part of the city and falls within the kinds of things that are ordinarily regulated even if there is a religious duty attached."

European Rabbis Announce Creation Of Mohel's Union

"The Conference of European Rabbis has today announced the creation of The Union of Mohalim in Europe (UME). Based upon the model of the UK's Initiation Society, the UME will unite approved mohalim across Europe under a single banner, ensuring that all communities can be assured of the high level of training and regulation of the mohalim that they use.…"

Video: Eric Salgado Lies About Dangerous Haredi Circumcision Practice, Says He Will Fire health Commissioner If Elected

Appalling: In a new low, New York City mayoral candidate Eric Salgado lies, claiming "rabbis" agreed to a DNA test to prove metziztah b'peh (MBP), the direct mouth-to-bloody-penis sucking done by many haredi mohels after cutting of the foreskin, does not transmit herpes to newborns when in fact, haredi rabbis ordered families not to tell the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene the identity of the mohel who infected their baby. Salgado also misrepresents the science of the issue and its history.

Leave Health Risk Assessment Of Dangerous Haredi Circumcision Procedure To The Rabbis, NYC Mayoral Candidate Says

In the continuing rush by candidates for New York City mayor to pander for the haredi bloc vote, city comptroller John Liu says haredi rabbis – not doctors and public health professionals – should decide whether metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the direct mouth-to-bleeding-penis sucking done by many haredi mohels immediately after cutting off the baby's foreskin, is dangerous.

OU Publishes Defense Of Dangerous Haredi Circumcision Practice, Endorsement Of Haredi Rabbi Who Tried To Destroy Modern Orthodoxy

The OU has published an article on the medical halakha rulings of the late haredi leader Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv that contains a defense of metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the dangerous mouth-to-bleeding-penis sucking done primarily by haredi mohels after cutting off the baby's foreskin. Perhaps worse than that, it has also published at least two other glowing articles about Elyashiv – a man who openly tried to destroy Modern Orthodoxy.

Why Haredim Who Allow Dangerous Circumcision Procedure To Be Done On Their Children Could End Up In Prison

"For parents, there is no religious exemption, no absolute license that lets you do what you want in the name of religion."

The Life Or Death Questions NYC Mayoral Candidates Failed To Answer

"…The lives of defenseless infants literally hang in the balance. Because of that, [I] hope and expect that every New York City mayoral candidate, including [this candidate], will fully answer the questions I have asked in this email and [will] address the information attached below in a timely fashion, befitting someone who, if elected mayor, will be responsible for the city's public health and child protection.…"

Video: Anthony Weiner Talks Metzitzah B'Peh With Hamodia Editor

Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner, now a candidate for NYC mayor, talks metzitzah b'peh, the dangerous mouth-to-bleeding-penis sucking done by haredi (and some Zionist Orthodox) mohels after removing the baby's foreskin, with Hamodia's Rabbi Yosef Rapoport outside last nights NYC Democratic  mayoral candidates' forum in Flatbush.

As Candidates Continue To Pander For Haredi Bloc Votes, Two Stand Separate And Alone

NYC mayoral candidates participated last night in another public forum sponsored by haredim, this one in Flatbush, Brooklyn. All of the candidates save for Christine Quinn openly pandered to haredim over metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the dangerous mouth-to-bloody-penis sucking done by many haredi (and some Zionist Orthodox) mohels immediately after removing the baby’s foreskin. But one of those candidates outdid the others in his craven disregard for the truth – and for the safety of haredi babies.

Rabbi Moshe Tendler Condemns Dangerous Haredi Circumcision Procedure

Rabbi Moshe Tendler, a professor of biology at Yeshiva University, says that not only is there no religious requirement for metzitzah b’peh—"It was largely brought to America by Hungarian immigration after the Holocaust—but “you will not find a single respected pediatrician who will defend that oral practice.”…

Quinn Tells Other NYC Mayoral Candidates To Stop “Pandering” To Haredim Over Circumcision

"…whether it’s the Upper East Side transfer station or going into a synagogue–as I did last week–and saying that practices around circumcision that are done in particular ways that are unhealthy for children aren’t gonna continue without proper notification. You just have to stand up sometimes, even if gets you booed…"

Video: NYC Mayoral Democratic Candidates On Permitting Dangerous Haredi Circumcision Rite

NYC's Democratic mayoral candidates each explain their position on metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the direct mouth-to-bleeding-penis sucking done by haredi (and some Modern Orthodox) mohels after cutting off the baby's foreskin. If you care about public health, the lives of babies – or simply care about the truth – you should be appalled by what you hear.

Video: Haredi Leader Claims Media Bias, Attacks NYC Mayor

At the organization's annual dinner, Rabbi Dovid Zwiebel, the executive VP of Agudath Israel of America, complains that media – and politicians –  are biased against haredim. As proof, he cites an unsupported claim made by a right wing evangelical Christian legal organization.

Don't Let Gentiles Or Average Jews Know We Do Controversial Circumcision Sucking Rite, Chabad Rabbi Says

“[Metzitzah b'peh, the direct mouth-to-bleeding penis sucking done by many haredi mohels after removing a baby's foreskin] is not an issue that should be discussed in a non-Jewish paper. It’s something to be discussed by rabbis.”

Chief Rabbis' Reversal On Circumcision Sucking Ritual Ban Done To Protect Chabad

A Chabad rabbi, Yehuda Teichtal, faces a lawsuit and possible criminal prosecution in Germany for having metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the direct mouth-to-bloody-penis sucking done to babies by mohels after the foreskin has been cut off, done to his infant son in violation of German law that requires the highest level of current medical practice to be followed. Israel's chief rabbis' reversal on a plan to ban MBP appears to have taken place to protect Teichtal and Chabad from those legal actions.

Metzitza B’Peh Is A Part of The Circumcision Procedure And Must Be Done, Israel’s Haredi Chief Rabbis Now Say

A letter was released today by the Director of the Circumcision Department of the Chief Rabbinate Rabbi Moshe Marciano. Marciano wrote that the position of the Chief Rabbinate supports the so-called traditional circumcision procedure that includes MBP which, Marciano wrote, is done to ensure the health of the baby.

Chabad Rabbinic Organization Lies To Protect Chabad Emissary From Circumcision Lawsuit

The Rabbinical Centre of Europe – which was founded by and is controlled by Chabad – issued a statement today claiming the circumcision was done properly and that it conformed with German law that requires medical protocols be followed. But as the photo to your right shows, Chabad was lying.

Chief Rabbis Tell Mohels To Use Sterile Tube, Not Mouth, For Metzitzah

Two months after an Israeli study found that 1/3 of all neonatal herpes cases in Israel come from circumcisions done with metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the direct mouth-to-bloody-penis-sucking done by many mohels after removing the baby's foreskin, Israel's haredi chief rabbis urged mohels to use a sterile tube, not their mouths, to do the procedure.

University Of Pennsylvania Issues Statement On Agudath Israel Of America Misrepresentation Of Circumcision Study

Penn Med could not be clearer – Agudath Israel of America used an internal Penn Med study without permission, took it out of context and misrepresented what the study found – in other words, the rabbis and gedolim of Agudah lied. Here is Penn Med's statement in full.