Jewish leaders in four Nordic countries have reacted angrily to a ban on non-medical circumcision proposed by Icelandic lawmakers.
In an open letter deploring a bill that would prohibit the genital mutilation of male infants, Aron Verständig, Dan Rosenberg-Asmussen, Ervin Kohn and Yaron Nadbornik referred to the Nazi prohibition on brit milah, Jewish ritual circumcision.
They said:
It would not be the first time in the long tradition of the Jewish people. Throughout history, more than one oppressive regime has tried to suppress our people and eradicate Judaism by prohibiting our religious practices.
Iceland, they added, does not have an organised Jewish community today.
In fact, Iceland is said to be Europe’s “most godless” country.
They wrote:
Banning Brit Milah will be an effective deterrent and will guarantee that no Jewish community will be established.
Lawmakers from four parties with 46 percent of the seats in parliament, including the ruling party, co-authored the bill.
T he co-authors conceded that their he open letter might be perceived as meddling in Iceland’s internal affairs.
And why should we care? The reason is that you are about to attack Judaism in a way that concerns Jews all over the world.
The Nordic Jewish community leaders urged the Icelandic lawmakers to follow Norway’s 2015 legislation on non-medical circumcision, which introduced regulation while ensuring the custom’s legality under certain conditions.
In Europe, circumcision is under attack from right-wing politicians who view it as a foreign import whose proliferation is often associated mostly with Muslim immigration. And it is also opposed by left-wing liberals and atheists who denounce it as a primitive form of child abuse.