Rabbis Urge German Jews to Defy Ban, Continue Circumcision

An influential group of European rabbis urged Germany’s Jewish community on Thursday to continue circumcising baby boys, despite a regional court having banned the practice.

Three weeks ago, Cologne’s regional court said that even if parents want the procedure, circumcising young boys on religious grounds amounts to bodily harm. Thousands of baby boys are circumcised in Germany each year, mostly for religious reasons, and religious groups said they feared that the decision sets a precedent that other German courts will soon follow.

The Conference of European Rabbis called the ban the “worst attack on Jewish life since the Holocaust.”

The president of the conference, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, said, “If the ruling is allowed to stand, then I don’t see a future for Jews in Germany.”

On Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said that Jews and Muslims will be allowed to continue circumcision in spite of the court ban, but the ruling still represents another red flag showing that anti-Semitism continues to simmers in Germany. Berlin has a history of double-crossing its allies, and Bible prophecy says it is going to do so again, this time to Israel. To understand more, read our article “Can Israel Trust Germany?”