Circoncisione e Morte

Circumcision Death Ireland

 

Linda Massie, director of NOCIRC Northern Ireland discusses the laws that don't protect children from genital mutilation in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Massie also discusses the circumcision death of a baby, Callis Osaghie who died from hemorrhage and shock in August 18.

The circumciser was 29 year old Osagie Igbinedion. After he was tried and cleared by a jury (and Judge Kevin Haugh who "didn't wish to bring their white western values to bear" on deciding this case,) Mr Igbinedion said he would like to continue carrying out circumcisions.

Sud Africa: la strage continua

Eastern Cape Deaths
from Circumcision, 2011:28
in 2010 Total: 62



EASTERN CAPE: Another death

King calls for halt in initiate deaths

Il Re invita a fermare la strage

Re Mpendulo Zwelonke Sigcawu ha lanciato un appello ai leader tradizionali di lavorare insieme con i loro rispettivi consiglieri comunali, nel tentativo di frenare queste "inutili" morti...

Eastern CapeXhosa King Mpendulo Zwelonke Sigcawu has appealed to traditional leaders to work together with their respective municipal councillors in a bid to curb the “unnecessary” deaths of initiates during the December holidays.

The king said it was the duty of traditional leaders to show leadership when there was something amiss in their territories.

“To me it is not a good thing to read about the deaths of initiates, hence I am saying that traditional leaders must show their leadership in this important custom of our forefathers,” said Sigcawu.

Two initiates were reported dead in Matatiele and Bizana earlier this month.

The latest umkhwetha (initiate) to die was from Holela village, Centane, last Thursday.

Police spokesperson Capt Jackson Manatha said: “It is alleged that the deceased was from a nearby village.

“Elderly men observed that he was ill and weak. A car was organised to take him to Butterworth hospital but he died on the way. An inquest docket has been opened.”

Sigcawu urged traditional leaders, as custodians of tribal customs, to be at the forefront of stopping the death of initiates.

The provincial government earlier this year set aside R14.3m for efforts to stop the death of initiates.

A total of 25 initiates in the province died in June from genital amputations while 21 died in December last year.

MEC for local government and traditional affairs Mlibo Qoboshiyane in July said: “It was shocking to learn of the increasing commercialisation of traditional circumcision in some communities, with one ingcibi (traditional surgeon) charging R1600 to circumcise one boy.

“In this case, he had at least 61 initiates in his schools,” said Qoboshiyane.

Population Eastern Cape
• Total 5,797,840

www.circumstitions.com/news/news43.html#1

Auguri, Buon Natale a tutti

Nel porgere gli auguri di buon natale a tutti, ringraziamo tutti coloro che ci hanno seguito lungo tutto quest'anno, chi ci segue su Fb o Twitter, chi ogni giorno difende i diritti dei bambini in ogni dove e in ogni paese, spesso a rischio della vita, gli attivisti americani, inglesi, canadesi e europei, uno speciale ringraziamento va a Tiziana, Monica, Luciana, Samuele, Michele, Alan e Tommaso. Grazie a tutti, e buon Natale a voi e alle vostre meravigliose famiglie da Elefantino e dal suo Staff.


Grazie del vostro sostegno e stima lunga tutto un anno


Dal 27 Dicembre come sempre terneremo a informarvi

Foreskin Man-Volume 1 - ultima parte

Leader Finlandese condanna circoncisione maschile

Finnish Unitarian Leader Condemns Circumcision

Antti Pelkola, duly elected Chairman of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Finland (equivalent of President of the US society), has today clearly stated his censure of male circumcision:

Il presidente Finlandese Antti Pelkola, ha oggi chiaramente espresso il suo dissenso nei confronti della circoncisione maschile.

*As a Unitarian, I believe in naturalness and the freedom to choose as basic guidelines. As long as it has not been proven otherwise, circumcision represents not only an act against nature but a procedure not medical which encroaches on a child's right to self-determination, from which commercial advantage is obtained primarily by physicians and self-styled barbers (in the event they are paid for their work), as well as bigots who wish to identify those of the "right persuasion" on the basis of their physical appearance.

..sino a quando non ne è stato dimostrato il contrario, la circoncisione infantile rappresenta non solo un crimine contro natura, ma una procedura non medica che viola il diritto all'autodeterminazione
e alla scelta per il proprio corpo di ogni bambino, spesso eseguita da barbieri o personale non medico… …

"God, I feel, looks elsewhere.

"Hair and fingernails can be cut -- they grow back. Irreversible operations are, however, even at their most beneficial, akin to cosmetic foolery which should -- in appealing specifically to the protection of children -- be completely prohibited."

(He goes on to suggest that though a foreskin can be surgically replaced later, the risks and costs of such an operation are such that circumcision can not be justified on such a pretext alone.)

....

Muore Christopher Hitchens

Muore Christopher Hitchens, grande attivista per i diritti dei bambini contro le mutilazioni genitali.

Christopher Eric Hitchens (Portsmouth, 13 aprile 1949 – Houston, 15 dicembre 2011) è stato un giornalista, saggista, critico letterario e commentatore politico britannico naturalizzato statunitense, che ha vissuto e lavorato prevalentemente negli Stati Uniti. Già commentatore per Vanity Fair, The Nation e Slate, è stato columnist per il Wall Street Journal nonché, occasionalmente, esperto di affari correnti americani sulle colonne del quotidiano britannico Daily Mirror.



"If anyone wants to saw off bits of their genitalia they should do it when they're grown up and have made the decision for themselves."

Christopher Hitchens 1949-2011


Remembering Christopher Hitchens - Hitchslapping Circumcision!



17 packed minutes of Christopher Hitchens utterly hitchslapping the idea of mutilating childrens genitals.

Thank You Christopher! We will continue the fight to stop forced genital cutting of children.

Picchiati, intimiditi per non aver voluto praticare la circoncisione o essersi opposti a essa

Tanzania - Arusha. Dirigenti della Chiesa e del governo locale hanno criticato i tradizionalisti per molestie contro chi si oppone al loro modo di comportarsi o alle loro usanze tribali. "Traditionalists" sono stati accusati di picchiare gli uomini che si rifiutavano di eseguire i riti di iniziazione tradizionale come la circoncisione.

They have called on the government to intervene urgently and save innocent people from being beaten up, intimidated and sometimes paraded naked allegedly for not abiding by traditional ways of circumcision.

Hanno chiesto al governo di intervenire urgentemente e salvare persone innocenti che rischiano di essere picchiate, intimidite e talvolta costrette a sfilare nude presumibilmente per il loro rifiuto alla circoncisione.

"Beating somebody and stripping him naked in public is not only a blatant violation of human rights but is also against the law," their leader to the deputy minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development Goodluck ole Medeye, who is also the Arumeru West MP, noted....

"Battere qualcuno e spogliarlo nudo in pubblico non è solo una palese violazione dei diritti umani , ma è anche contro la legge ", commenta il vice ministro per le Terre, Housing e Insediamenti Umani Sviluppo Goodluck ole Medeye ....

... gruppi di tradizionalisti irriducibili tra Waarusha e le tribù Maasai ... stanno conducendo nei giorni scorsi una campagna di terrore contro coloro che vengono percepiti come non cooperativi.

The violent bands target fathers or guardians whose boys are circumcised in hospitals. Fathers whose boys are “cut” by circumcisers not recognised by community elders also incur the wrath of the conservatives. The church leaders are worried about the situation taking into account the fact that Mr Medeye “inaugurated” the community-wide circumcision in Arumeru District a few months ago.

... alcuni anziani, tra cui un pastore, sono stati picchiati e costretti a sfilare nudi. Altri hanno avuto il loro bestiame confiscato o sono stati minacciati di esilio.

... some elders, including a pastor, have been beaten up and paraded naked. Others had their livestock confiscated or threatened with banishment.

They cited what happened on November 5 to Mr ... after his boys were circumcised at Olevolos Village when the elderly man was confronted by people who stripped him naked, thoroughly beat and took him around the area while naked. Later on the same group returned and took his cow by force and slaughtered it. On November 12, Mr ... , Mr ... , Mr ... and one identified only as Mr ... , all elders of Shiboro and Ilkiding'a villages, had their cattle, sheep and money taken away.

Il 17 novembre, ... ... del Villaggio Siwandet stato spogliato nudo. E 'stato poi coperto con un sacchetto di nylon e portato in giro per le frazioni, mentre veniva picchiato e fischiato da alcuni esaltati. La polizia lo ha liberato il giorno successivo. Sua moglie ha subito un destino simile.

On November 17, Mr ... of Siwandet Village was stripped naked. He was later covered with a nylon bag and taken around the hamlets while being flogged and booed. Police rescued him the following day. His wife suffered a similar fate.

A few days later, it was reported that a church leader in the area was hauled from his home and stripped naked and taken around his village. His colleagues escape. The treatment forced church elders in some villages to flee their homes for sometime.

Pochi giorni dopo, è stato segnalato che un leader della chiesa nella zona è stato trasportato dalla sua casa e spogliato nudo e portato in giro per il suo villaggio. I suoi colleghi erano in fuga. Gli anziani e i chierici della chiesa in alcuni villaggi sono stati costretti ad abbandonare le proprie case per qualche tempo.

Episodi simili sono stati riportati anche a Timbolo, Sambasha, Olosiva enei villaggi Marurani e gli anziani dicono che hanno perso i loro animali o sono stati sottoposti a percosse.

Similar incidents have also been reported at Timbolo, Sambasha, Olosiva and Marurani villages and elders said to have lost their animals or subjected to beatings.

...
http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/-/17863-stop-...erics-urge-govt

Mutilazioni femminili e pediatri americani

Mutilazioni genitali femminili e pediatri americani

Oggi parliamo di mutilazioni genitali femminili (MGF). Sono forme di rimozione parziale o totale dei genitali femminili esterni o altre modificazioni indotte agli organi genitali femminili, effettuate per ragioni culturali. Sono una pratica diffusa principalmente in alcuni paesi dell’Africa, del Medio Oriente e dell’Asia. Nei villaggi dei paesi interessati vi sono donne, generalmente anziane e autorevoli, che con rudimentali strumenti, in condizioni igieniche precarie, con anestetici e disinfettanti naturali, intervengono sulle bambine. In alcune culture vi è la credenza che soltanto con la rimozione del clitoride una donna possa raggiungere la maturità e divenire a pieno titolo componente della comunità. Le MGF sono considerate una forma di controllo sulla sessualità della donna che solo privata di una parte dei suoi organi genitali potrà mantenersi vergine e casta. Hanno anche la funzione di “purificare la donna” dei genitali esterni perché, secondo alcune tradizioni, questi hanno effetti negativi sulla sua salute mentale, sulla vita del marito e dei futuri figli. Vi sono poi delle motivazioni psicologiche e sessuali. In alcune comunità si tende a sostenere la necessità di MGF per prevenire una incontrollata attività sessuale delle giovani donne, dovuta a una crescita eccessiva del clitoride, che aumenterebbe il desiderio sessuale. Le mutilazioni sarebbero quindi necessarie per preservare la castità delle giovani donne che possono così giungere al matrimonio vergini, per tutelare gli uomini e l’intera comunità da una vita sessualmente dissoluta. Si crede inoltre che il restringimento della vagina possa provocare un maggior piacere per l’uomo nel rapporto sessuale e quindi prevenire infedeltà e divorzi. In alcune comunità si crede infine che le MGF possano favorire la fertilità.

Gli organismi internazionali (OMS, Unicef, Unfpa), gli stati, sia occidentali che africani o medio orientali, sono tutti concordi nel ritenere che le MGF rappresentano una grave violazione dell’integrità fisica, psichica e morale delle donne, e di uno dei diritti umani fondamentali che è il diritto alla salute. È dimostrato da diversi studi, come dall’attività medica quotidiana, che queste pratiche comportano serie conseguenze sulla salute fisica e mentale delle bambine e delle donne, anche per le patologie legate alle complicanze che ne derivano che dipendono dalla gravità delle mutilazioni, dalle condizioni igieniche in cui sono eseguite e nelle quali abitualmente vivono le donne, dall’abilità delle persone che eseguono l’intervento.

Perché ne sto parlando? Perché l’American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) il primo maggio aveva diffuso un pronunciamento in cui si sosteneva la possibilità di permettere ai medici negli USA di operare un piccolo “taglio rituale” al clitoride delle bambine che sostituisca forme più gravi e pericolose di mutilazioni. Questo per evitare che le famiglie di immigrati legate a questa tradizione mandino le giovani figlie nel paese di origine o in contesti clandestini non igienici negli USA.

1999 RECOMMENDATIONS

Opposes all forms of female genital mutilation (FGM).

Recommends that its members provide patients and their parents with compassionate education about the physical harms and psychological risks of FGM.

2010/2011 RECOMMENDATIONS

Opposes all forms of FGC that pose risks of physical or psychologicalharm.

Recommends that its members provide patients and their parents with compassionate education about the physical harms and psychological risks of FGC while remaining sensitive to the cultural and religious reasons that motivate parents to seek this procedure for their daughters.

Di fronte a questa presa di posizione dell’AAP vi è stata una levata di scudi da parte di attivisti che hanno sottolineato come quelle indicazioni siano incoerenti da un punto di vista etico e medico e in contrasto con la costituzione, le leggi e i diritti umani.

Di conseguenza, nei giorni scorsi l’AAP ha diffuso un nuovo comunicato in cui fa marcia indietro affermando la propria forte opposizione alle MGF e chiedendo ai propri membri di non mettere in atto tali procedure, neppure i surrogati.

E in Italia come ci si regola? Da noi è in vigore la legge 7/2006 nel cui articolo 6 si afferma: “Chiunque, in assenza di esigenze terapeutiche, cagiona una mutilazione degli organi genitali femminili è punito con la reclusione da quattro a dodici anni. Ai fini del presente articolo, si intendono come pratiche di mutilazione degli organi genitali femminili la clitoridectomia, l’escissione e l’infibulazione e qualsiasi altra pratica che cagioni effetti dello stesso tipo. […] La pena è aumentata di un terzo quando le pratiche di cui al primo e al secondo comma sono commesse a danno di un minore ovvero se il fatto è commesso per fini di lucro”.

Senza compromessi e senza sconti.

Infibulazione: morta una ragazzina in Egitto

Egitto, ragazzina muore dopo infibulazione



Il Cairo Il corpo sepolto di nascosto per celare le cause del decesso. Frattini: ''Mettere al bando usanza barbara'' La segnalazione è arrivata tramite una linea telefonica che il Cairo ha istituito per aiutare il governo a individuare chi compie mutilazioni genitali femminili. Queste, infatti, sono state vietate in Egitto nel 2007, ma continuano a essere praticate illegalmente.

Un medico egiziano è stato arrestato dopo che una ragazzina sulla quale aveva praticato l'infibulazione è morta. Lo riporta il quotidiano indipendente 'Shorouk', secondo cui la polizia è stata informata della morte nonostante il corpo fosse stato illegalmente sepolto di nascosto per celare le cause del decesso. Il medico, che opera nel governatorato di Menufiya sul Delta del Nilo, è stato deferito al tribunale penale.

"La notizia della tragica scomparsa della bambina egiziana vittima di mutilazione genitale mi rattrista profondamente - afferma il ministro degli Esteri, Franco Frattini - La lotta alle mutilazioni genitali femminili, pratica assolutamente lesiva della dignita e dell'integrità psico-fisica delle donne, mi vede da tempo impegnato in prima persona per la messa al bando di questa barbara usanza".

''La notizia odierna - si legge in una nota della Farnesina - non può che spingere a rafforzare l'impegno già in atto del governo italiano nel raccogliere il consenso di un numero sempre maggiore di Stati per far adottare nei prossimi mesi una risoluzione contro le mutilazioni genitali femminili all'Assemblea Generale delle Nazioni Unite''
Da (Adnkronos/Aki/Ign)

A Cry of a young girl

Una bambina piange dopo l'escissione in Indonesia


Alla Triennale di Milano alla mostra Disquieting images-Immagini Inquietanti, collettiva che presenta le opere di 24 fotografi, ci sono anche le immagini di Stephanie Sinclair.

La fotoreporter americana, 37 anni, partecipa con A cutting Tradition: Inside An Indonesian Female Circumcision Celebration : reportage realizzato in Indonesia nell’ Aprile (mese lunare che coincide con la nascita del profeta Maometto) del 2010 durante la cerimonia annuale di circoncisione di massa, promossa dall’ organizzazione islamica Assalaam Foundation, gratuita ed aperta al pubblico.

Stephanie Sinclair è una free-lance che ha scelto attraverso il suo lavoro di documentare e denunciare le violazioni dei diritti umani e delle pari opportunità tra l’ India ed il Medioriente.

Le circoncisioni durante questa celebrazione avvengono per mano di levatrici, in un centro di preghiera e nelle aule vuote di una scuola elementare, sui banchi ricoperti da lenzuola.

Alle bambine , accompagnate solitamente dalle loro madri, dopo l’ intervento viene offerta una tazza di latte e dato un piccolo regalo: della frutta o un pezzo di stoffa.

La circoncisione femminile avviene per motivi religiosi: in molti paesi è diffusa l’ idea che le ragazze non-circoncise non possano curare in modo corretto l’ igiene personale dopo aver urinato, e soprattutto che la preghiera delle donne non pulite rimanga inascoltata.

Una donna non pulita è anche spesso troppo eccitata per aver cura della propria casa. Inoltre le non circoncise rischiano di non trovare marito.

Secondo i dati del Population Council in Indonesia il 96% delle figlie viene circoncisa prima dei 14 anni.

Stephanie Sinclair ha ricevuto l’ Alexia Foundation Professional Grant, il premio dell’ Unicef per la Fotografia dell’ anno, per aver documentato il problema dei matrimoni imposti ai bambini, ed il World Press Photo per le donne coraggio in Afghanistan.
( Articolo dalla rivista Mezzocielo di M. Di Trapani. Gennnaio 2011)

SENEGAL: How to end female cutting

In Senegal, a Movement to Reject Female Circumcision

The practice of "female circumcision" is widespread, affecting an estimated 140 million women worldwide. ...

La pratica della "circoncisione femminile" è molto diffusa, colpisce circa 140 milioni di donne in tutto il mondo.



Attempts have been made from time to time to stamp out the practice: by missionaries in colonial times, U.N. proclamations, even laws to ban it, all to little effect. From all this history, Molly Melching, founder of an organization in Senegal called Tostan, derived a lesson.

"Tostan found that using approaches that shame or blame people really was just the opposite of what would work in changing social norms," Melching said.

In the two decades since Tostan -- which means "breakthrough" in the local Wolof language -- began using a human rights education approach, almost 5,000 villages in Senegal have abandoned the practice of female genital cutting, she said.

...

Tostan's staff and volunteers ... rely on an expansive education program of seminars conducted in the villages on human rights, including the right to good health. In time, people learn about germ transmission and how complications suffered by so many women during childbirth can be traced back to the cutting that occurred during their childhood, Melching explains. All this leads to community discussions that examine the origins of the practice,

...

Melching says religious leaders,... are especially appreciative of being consulted first.

Tostan's message to the communities is respectful, non-judgmental and simple: we know you want to do what's best for your daughters' future. It is sensitive to the fact that from the community's perspective, girls who are not cut are likely to be ostracized and unable to find marriage partners. That makes it critical that large numbers of communities - the marriage pool - abandon the practice collectively. Tostan helps coordinate, organize and raise the funds for such declarations -- gala events attended by thousands of people from hundreds of villages:

"One part of bringing about a change like this is to get everyone to change at once, what we call coordinated abandonment. Everyone has to see that everyone else sees that everyone is changing," says University of California, San Diego, professor Gerry Mackie, who has closely studied Tostan.

There are instances in history for this kind of massive shift in social norms. Women's feet were once bound in China, but the practice was abandoned in barely a generation. And there's a more recent example Melching notices when she returns to America: cigarette smoking was common and widespread when she left in the 1970s, but with increasing awareness of the health consequences, it has become widely unacceptable today.
(http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/0...rcumcision.html)

Kenya: continuano le FGM rituali

Villagers ignore the law and go on a girl circumcision frenzy

Nonostante il divieto di legge, nei villaggi si continua imperterriti a praticare le FGM su giovani donne e bambine.

Centinaia di studentesse hanno subito il tradizionale rito di passaggio, che ora permette loro di sposarsi.

All'inizio della settimana, due "circumcisers ritual woman" sono state arrestate dalla polizia mentre praticavano una FGM a cinque giovani ragazze.

The sound of gun shots pierced the air as seemingly intoxicated youth joined girls and women in wild celebration.

Tradition had triumphed over law as hundreds of girls, some as young as eight years old faced the knife in a procedure that is internationally loathed and outlawed — female genital mutilation.

The setting is Kuria East and West districts. It’s is the third year since the last rite, and so a fresh set of girls are supposed to undergo the FGM among the Bugambe and the Buiregi clans.

Tuesday was the culmination of three days of activities that saw the villagers throng footpaths in wild celebration, armed with home made guns, machetes, spears, knives, clubs and other weapons that would ordinarily have their wielders jailed.

Hundreds of schoolgirls underwent the traditional rite of passage that now allows them to get married, raising doubts as to whether they will continue with their studies in the New Year.

Among the health concerns associated with the practice are complications during childbirth, heavy bleeding after birth and prolonged hospitalisation, with the degree of complications increasing depending on the extent and severity of the mutilation that can also cause infections and death.

Teachers in the area said that while the practice had been part of culture, it lead to significant deterioration in the standard of education as girls dropped out of school soon afterwards.

Mr Mosese Chahacha, a teacher in a local primary school said: “The rituals the initiates go through before the material day is like parallel education.

“They learn that they are adults and that they can stand up to anybody besides starting a home. It is very difficult for the teachers to discipline such children.”

Defended practice
But Guitembe ward councillor from Kuria constituency Protrus Kohe defended the practice, arguing that the constitution protected cultural practices of communities.

“The government allowed us to circumcise the men, which we did, but then we later wondered: now that we have taken men through the initiation, must we not create a pool of women from where they can marry? That is why we have decided to undertake the practice,” argued Mr Kohe.

Early in the week, two women circumcisers were arrested by police while “cutting” five young girls. The law enforcers laid a trap near the circumcisers’ homes and nabbed them soon after they began the “surgery”.

But the locals, who are predominantly members of the Kuria community, blocked the police vehicle, demanding immediate and unconditional release of the women.

December 7, 2011

....

da http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Villagers+go+...78/-/676fmuz/-/

DOMANDE, DUBBI SU FIMOSI O CIRCONCISIONE?

DIFFIDATE DI SITI O BLOG INAFFIDABILI, CON CONTROVERSIA DI INTERESSI, PAGATI DA PSEUDO MEDICI PRIVATI. DOVE REGNA SOLO IL CAOS, LA DISINFORMAZIONE, I MITI, LE LEGGENDE METROPOLITANE. RIVOLGETEVI A NOI.. VERI ESPERTI NEL SETTORE, CON "INTACT ITALIA" E AL FIANCO DI ENTI, MEDICI E ASSOCIAZIONI INTERNAZIONALI O AL VOSTRO MEDICO DI FIDUCIA. A CHI NON HA CUORE CHE LA VOSTRA SALUTE E LA PIENA INFORMAZIONE/COSCIENZA SU TALI TEMATICHE.

 - QUESTO SPAZIO E' STATO CREATO IL 10 DICEMBRE 2011-

DI VOLTA IN VOLTA RISPONDEREMO A TUTTE LE DOMANDE CHE VERRANO POSTE IN QUESTO SPAZIO.. FARLO E' SEMPLICE: POTETE USARE FACEBOOK, UN ID, VIRGILIO, TWITTER, BLOGGER O PIU' SEMPLICEMENTE LA VOCE "NOME/URL" SENZA NECESSITA' DI EMAIL O ALTRO ^^ GRAZIE!

-- Attenzione: il Forum e il seguente spazio propone contenuti a solo scopo informativo e che in nessun caso possono costituire la prescrizione di un trattamento o sostituire la visita specialistica di un urologo o il rapporto diretto con il proprio medico curante. Se ne declina ogni responsabilità in ogni sede. Le risposte a cura di "Intac Italia" e non di Elefantino82--

Jewish Voices: The Current Judaic Movement to End Circumcision

Jewish Voices: The Current Judaic Movement to End Circumcision
The current San Francisco circumcision referendum has made the public aware of the severe physical consequences of the controversial surgery. The idea that an individual has the right to their own body is recent by historical standards. For many years, a number of courageous Jewish and Israeli scholars, historians, activists, and parents have raised serious objections to circumcision surgery. More and more Jews are choosing not to circumcise their sons. These Jewish voices against circumcision are just starting to enter the mainstream conversation.

Here are some of these pioneers in their own words.

“Mutilation of the divinely made human body is as far from Judaism as anything could be. Even criminals are not mutilated, and the law limits the number of lashes to avoid permanent damage. Judaism objects to cuts made in grievance, and loathe spilling human blood.”
- Israeli Linguist Vadim Cherny,
How Judaic is the circumcision?

"The code of the Jewish law is called "halacha" (the way). Within the Code, there is a provision that if a mother loses a son because of circumcision, she is NOT obligated to circumcise her next son. I extrapolate from this, the inter-connection of my human family, that enough deaths and maiming have occurred because of circumcision. Therefore - circumcision is no longer a requisite! Just as we no longer practice the animal sacrifices in the traditional temple, so let us not sacrifice an important piece of our mammal in the temple of tradition."
- Rabbi Nathan Segal, Rabbi of Shabbos Shul
One Rabbis' Thoughts on Circumcision

“There are many abandoned practices that are widely considered unethical nowadays, even though they are ordained in the Torah. These include slavery, polygamy, and corporal punishment for working on the Sabbath. Just like slavery, polygamy, and corporal punishment, the practice of circumcision is a cultural practice that predates Judaism. If Judaism is to survive, then we must accept circumcision for what it is, a form of torture and sexual mutilation, and stop it. There are other ways we can teach our children to respect women and sustain a happy marriage and family life.”
- Jonathan Friedman, founder of IntactNews.org

“AS AN INCREASING NUMBER OF AMERICANS – including a sizable number of American Jews – question the act of male circumcision, a group of San Francisco activists are advocating to ban circumcision… Many of the leading activists against circumcision around the country are Jewish.”
- JERUSALEM POST, Challenging the Circumcision Myth [PDF], (Israel) 04/10/2011

“All attempts to justify a custom such as this by means of one or another symbolic explanation collapse in the presence of the baby, in agony under the mohel’s knife.… there is enough of worth in Judaism to guarantee its survival, even after it rids itself of this disturbing custom. It may even be strengthened this way.”
- Professor Hanoch Ben-Yami, Central European University
Letters, Azure, Summer 5767 / 2007, no. 29

"Without compromising either our children’s identity or the survival of our people, we can invite all of our Jewish children, our baby girls and our baby boys, into a brit b’lee milah, a covenant without circumcision, and school them in the wisdom, love, and beauty of the Jewish tradition. Unlike Christianity, which teaches that a child is born into original sin and must be redeemed, Judaism teaches that the soul is pure — only the penis needs “redemption.” The truth is that the whole baby is pure, body and soul, including his tender genitals, and it is both a mitzvah and our most sacred duty to protect him."
- Miriam Pollack, Circumcision: Identity, Gender, and Power
Tikkun 26(3), 2011.

“In Israel, opposition to circumcision has happened in just two decades, and now these “rebels” number in the tens of thousands, according to Ronit Tamir, founder of Kahal, a support group for parents who choose not to circumcise their children.”
- JEWISH WORLD, 3/11/10.

“It seems to me that for liberal Jews the choice comes down to this. Do we want to in some way circumscribe the sexual possibilities of our sons by performing a body modification when they are infants so as to bear witness to the covenant? Are there not other ways to bear witness? Are there not other ways to maintain our distinctiveness from the society around us? Despite having circumcised my two sons, the more I think about the issue, the more likely – were I a resident of San Francisco – I would support the referendum.”
- Sandford Borins, Ph.D., The Circumcision Referendum: A Liberal Jewish Perspective Sandford Borins, Ph.D., is a professor of Management at the University of Toronto.

“…as recently as the mid-nineteenth century, in Eastern Europe and Russia there was a widespread move to stop [circumcision]… Led by women–what a surprise!–who thought the practice barbaric and patriarchal, the movement eventually even convinced Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, who refused to allow his own son to be circumcised.”
- Michael S. Kimmel, Professor, SUNY Stony Brook
TIKKUN, Volume 16, May/June, 2001.

“So it’s quite obvious that to question any aspect of Judaism, including circumcision is not anti-Semitic. It is very much in keeping with Judaism’s rich tradition of discussion and debate…So what if parents don’t want the milah, but still want the brit? Several different alternative rituals have been created by parents and rabbis of all branches of Judaism. They’re typically called a Brit Shalom, so rather than covenant of cutting, it’s a covenant of peace. They tend to involve all the traditional aspects of a traditional bris, including all the same participants and blessings, just without the actual circumcision. Some will simply use the same naming ceremony used for girls. It’s not particularly common, but it is being used more often now than in the past. Support groups exist for parents of intact Jewish boys. Cars now bear bumper stickers which read, “Jews embracing wholeness. Saying no to circumcision”. Even in Israel, there are Jewish organizations that oppose brit milah. One non-profit organization in Israel working to stop circumcision took its case to the High Court of Justice in 1998 and maintained in its petition that “in a modern democratic society there is no place for the ‘barbaric’ ceremony which mauls a child who does not have any say in the matter." The movement is largely made up of Reform parents, but it is visible in other areas as well. Moshe Rothenberg is a Conservative Jew living in an observant Jewish community in Brooklyn, yet he did not circumcise his son. (Rothenberg). The Af-milah newsletter is an Israeli newsletter dedicated to ending brit milah. Those who question and refuse to have a brit milah aren’t necessarily doing it because they have assimilated or because they’re anti-Semitic. Some feel this way after careful study of Jewish texts and observances.”
- D.A. Huffman-Parent, Brit Milah : Inconsistent with Jewish Ethics?

“Good afternoon. My name is Brian Levitt… I am Jewish, the eldest of 3 children and the son of a doctor… I feel deeply harmed by circumcision, and this view has only been confirmed over time. I do not feel closer to Judaism because of my circumcision. On the contrary, I deeply wish one thing had nothing to do with the other. The genital cutting of infants has driven me away from my religion, and I'm far from alone in this view. Eventually my father understood these issues, and even apologized for having allowed my brother and I to be circumcised at birth… There are hundreds of thousands of men who resent their infant circumcision. There are tens of thousands of intact Jewish boys and men around the world who thank their lucky stars they were not circumcised.”
- Brian Levitt, Jewish Intactivist, co-founder of Jews for the Rights of the Child
Testimony at the California Senate Judiciary Committee Public Hearing on Circumcision.

I was raised as a Jew and yet I never even considered circumcising my sons. Reason told me that God or nature doesn't make mistakes. Obviously there is a vast intelligence behind all of life, and just as our eyes have eyelids to protect them, foreskins must serve a similar purpose.”
- Laura Shanley, A Jewish Woman Denounces Circumcision

“We each hold our own ideas about life and our Jewish heritage. We won't always agree. But we're united by this principle: the genital cutting of infants and children is wrong and must stop, no matter their religion or gender.”
- Rebecca Wald, host of BeyondtheBris.com, a blog for Jewish parents.

"I am confident that my people have such an abundance of life-enhancing, life-affirming and mind-opening traditions, that our identity and sense of cultural self-heed will happily survive our outgrowing of circumcision, a cruel relic which has always felt to me like an aberration at the heart of my religion."
- Dr. Jenny Goodman, Challenging Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective

“Another American Jew who works against circumcision is Laurie Evans, the director of the New York Hudson Valley chapter of NOCIRC. “I went to a brit and couldn’t believe I was standing in a room of people who usually question so much, but didn’t think of the baby. It was one of the worst days of my life. I feel our religion is in our heart and soul, not in our genitals.”
When Evans’s children were born, she wanted to be more involved Jewishly, despite not being brought up to be practicing. She still maintains some of the Jewish customs, but her difficulty with circumcision has created a fissure between her and Judaism. “It’s hard for me to accept that we don’t accept tattooing and we like questioning, but this can’t be talked about. I see it like foot-binding in China.”

- THE JERUSALEM REPORT 2011 -

Related Multimedia:
The Jewish Circumcision Debate
http://intactnews.org/node/99/1311353828/j...umcision-debate


STATEMENT TASK FORCE

Ronald Goldman, Ph.D.
Executive Director of the Jewish Circumcision Resource Center
Author of Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective and
Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma

Leonard B. Glick, M.D., Ph.D.
Cultural anthropologist
Author of Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America

Lisa Braver Moss
Author of The Measure of His Grief
Writer specializing in health, family, and parenting issues

Miriam Pollack
Author of Circumcision: A Jewish Feminist Perspective
and "Circumcision: Identity, Gender, and Power"
Writer and speaker

Mark Reiss, M.D.
Executive Vice President of Doctors Opposing Circumcision
Creator and administrator of Celebrants of Brit Shalom

Rebecca Wald, J.D.
Founder of the Beyond the Bris project

Tina Kimmel, PhD, MSW, MPH
Maternal Child Health Epidemiologist

Moshe Rothenberg, MSW
Certified teacher and social worker, Brit Shalom ceremony leader

Veglia di San Francisco per vite perdute a causa della circoncisione

Veglia di San Francisco per le vite perdute in seguito alla circoncisione

Join Bay Area Intactivists for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the male, female and intersex children who have lost their lives due to complications of circumcision or other non-therapeutic forms of genital cutting. The vigil will take place outside Or Shalom in response to a circumcision panel discussion which will extol the genital cutting of children.

Please bring a candle that can be shielded from the wind.

Accendete una candela contro le Mutilazioni genitali al Maschile


Date evento: 4 dicembre 2011 - 5:00 p.m.

Date evento: 5 dicembre 2011 - 6:00 p.m.

Stop circoncisione

EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA: Chiefs reject infant circumcision

The national circumcision plan to circumcise all male babies immediately after birth and in hospitals has been rejected by Eastern Cape traditional leaders.

I leaders di Eastern Cape respingono il piano nazionale di circoncidere tutti i bambini maschi subito dopo la nascita.

Chiefs oppose infant 'snip'

The outright rejection of the hospital circumcision plan as introduced by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi came while the AmaXhosa, AmaMpondo and other ethnic groups in the province were bracing themselves to send thousands of boys to the mountain to be initiated to manhood during the coming festive season. This includes the December holidays and provides an opportunity for school boys who have reached the age of manhood to undergo the circumcision ritual before they graduate to manhood.

During the official opening of the ulwaluko (initiation) season, Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders chairman chief Ngangomhlaba Matanzima criticised Motsoaledi for introducing the hospital plan and especially for infants. “It is wrong to ask boys to go to a hospital and to perform a medical circumcision,” he said. Matanzima, who also boasted of having undergone initiation, said people who went to hospital were those who were sick. “These boys are not sick. Why must they go there?”

About 50000 young boys across the Eastern Cape are expected to go to the bush to undergo the Xhosa rite of passage where circumcision is used to teach the boys morals and values of manhood based on centuries-old traditions and custom. The custom is also believe to instil respect in the young men.

....

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!...cision/PyRBSY44

Circoncisione: un altro Bimbo morto

CIRCUMCISION: Another Baby Dies

It's been a while... There's so much I want to write about... There is so much I want to say... I've just been busy with life... work... family... I've been just so overwhelmed...

But I thought this warranted a post.

Often, when circumcision is promoted in this country, the so-called "benefits" of his non-therapeutic surgery are terribly exaggerated, while the risks are completely downplayed, if mentioned at all.

The only ones most parents in this country will hear about, if physicians even bother mentioning them are "pain and discomfort." Few will mention that circumcision could result in MRSA infection, a botched circumcision requiring future correction, partial or full ablation, and even death.

Yes, death is a risk or "complication" of circumcision, but it is rarely mentioned, if at all.

This is what is known and recognized by medical organizations in this country as "informed consent."

An estimated 117 deaths occur every year in the United States due to circumcision. This is a rough estimate, and more conservative than its predecessors (in the past, estimates have been as high as 200 or more deaths per year).

It is hard to get an accurate estimate on the number of deaths in the United States, because deaths due to circumcision are rarely reported as such, if reported at all. At 1.3 million circumcisions a year, circumcision is a money-maker for American medicine, and doctors have an investment to protect. Reporting adverse circumcision effects puts the yearly stipend in jeopardy, not to mention the disrepute it would bring to American medicine. 

Doctors have reputations to uphold, and pocketbooks to line and protect from lawsuits. With so much to lose, there is incentive to hide the evidence. And, parents who would like to maintain their illusion of circumcision being "harmless," and perish the thought that they were actively involved in any way in the death of their son, often agree to keep the death "secret," or report it as the doctor says.

Deaths due to circumcision are often reported as caused by something else, such as "cardiac arrest," or "septic shock." Reporting secondary causes of death hides the fact that they were caused by the circumcision that preceded them. Additionally, hospitals are not required to report deaths caused by circumcision.

Reporting deaths from circumcision would open the floodgates to lawsuits by angry parents and angry men. Reporting deaths from circumcision means loss of revenue. Reporting deaths from circumcision means the "benefits" have to be reconsidered. Reporting deaths from circumcision means that American medical organizations are being irresponsible. Reporting deaths from circumcision means "culture and tradition" is put in danger.

For these reasons, we will never know for sure how many children die as a result of their circumcisions. Reputations to protect, culture and tradition to safeguard, and floodgates to keep sealed.

Meanwhile, boys continue to die.


Connor James was born on Thanksgiving Weekend, Friday, November 25th in Pittsburgh, PA. On Saturday, November 26th, Baby Connor bled to death following his circumcision. Circumcision claims yet another life.

Last year, Joshua Haskins suffered a similar death. After struggling to survive in a NICU with a congenital heart problem, doctors thought it gracious to pressure his mother to have him circumcised "now that he's strong and healthy." Doctors, and even Josh's mother herself insist that Joshua died because of his heart problem (which wasn't aggravated by his circumcision?), although her blog records, which were saved before they were taken down, relate clearly that Joshua had been bleeding uncontrollably, and that it wasn't until 7 hours that doctors caught the nicked vein and decided to stitch it up. By then it was too late.

Would Joshua Haskins still be alive today, had they found the vein in the nick of time?

Who knows.

One thing is for sure though; Joshua was healthy and strong before his circumcision, which unquestionably did cause the complication. Joshua Haskins didn't have to die.

Neither did Connor James.

Neither did countless others before him that we will most likely never know about. 

Circumcision KILLS, people.

Death is one of the "risks" of this procedure.

Considering that there is no medical or clinical necessity to circumcise a perfectly healthy child, is it really worth it?

Without medical or clinical indication, can doctors even be performing risky surgery on a healthy, non-consenting individual, let alone elicit any kind of a "decision" from parents? 

A week from today, Bay Area Intactivists, an intactivist group in San Francisco, will hold a candlelight vigil in remembrance of all male, female and intersex children who have lost their lives due to unnecessary genital surgery.

Rest in peace, Joshua Haskins.

Rest in peace, Connor James.

Rest in peace, Amitai Moshe.

Rest in peace, all of you who died before your time due to this human tragedy.

May one day infant genital mutilation be a thing of the past.

Letter to Son

Jewish Father's Letter to His Son

To my dear son Elijah,

I write this letter to explain to you and my family & community why I choose not to perform a circumcision upon you. On your 8th day of life, I choose to have a Brit Shalom ceremony instead of a Brit Milah. The Brit Shalom ceremony is a ceremony acknowledging one's covenant with God without performing the ritual circumcision.

As a Jewish boy I was circumcised according to tradition when I was 8 days old, but not by my choice. I am choosing not to circumcise you my son because after studying this important issue, I can find no compelling reason to do it, and in my heart I will not do it simply because tradition dictates it.

The essence of the bris ceremony to me is that I want to make a covenant with God and you in my heart. The covenant I make with God is to commit myself to a spiritual life, to develop myself as a spiritual being, and that I will walk on this planet with a good heart. I am a Jew and I am proud of who I am. My son, I commit to raising you up as a spiritual being, and as a Jew. I will guide you to develop values of loving kindness. I will encourage you to develop as a spiritual being, and I will teach you about the importance of being considerate and respectful of all living beings. I will also encourage you to be self-reflective, and to explore the deeper meanings and mysteries of life, the hidden truths behind the veil. I believe you have come to this earth with a big mission for healing and touching others through your service.

To fulfill this covenant, I do not need to perform a circumcision and mark you as a sign of this covenant. The covenant stands with or without the sign that by tradition mandates it. The sign is a sign and not the covenant itself.

I intend to give you the opportunity to bar mitzvah when you are 13, and we will celebrate and honor the Shabbat, as well as other sacred Jewish rituals in our lives. We will learn about the power of restriction and extending help to others. We will learn about being a mensch.

Let me tell you my reasoning behind making this choice. There are many practices of olden days that were sanctioned by the Torah that are no longer permitted today because we are more enlightened, such as: human sacrifice, animal sacrifice, and slavery. Other acts that were punishable by death include fornicating if you are female (yes, only the females), homosexuality, and insulting one's parents. These traditions no longer exist.

I suspect something has been misunderstood in the transmission of the circumcision ritual through the ages. I have read that in earlier times, only a sliver of the foreskin was removed. It was not completely cut as common practice until the second century CE. I do not know this for sure, but nothing is known for sure about this. Apparently the earliest versions of the Torah tell the entire story of Abraham except the part about the covenant being sealed with circumcision. That comes later. There is mention that it was done for health reasons. I have heard that when the Jewish people lived in the desert long ago there was not much water, and that created a danger with regards to cleanliness. In this day and age that is not a compelling reason to circumcise you. I have also read that the circumcision is a mark upon us that marks us as different. Today in the United States, circumcision is the norm for all males, Jews and gentiles alike. Today, it is not a mark as a Jew.

I believe that the act of circumcision would be a traumatic event for you my child. I believe that it would form an early record in your body of the trauma and would color and distort your perceptions throughout your life. I have heard it said that the pain is brief and easily recovered from. I don't believe this. I believe the circumcision will be a deep trauma for you, as you are such a highly sensitive being. I believe that you would begin experiencing life through the eyes of the trauma, feeling defended and contracted, moving with fear and distrust. I do believe that experiencing trauma is a part of life, and healing through trauma is a part of how we evolve as a species. I am choosing not to voluntarily offer this trauma to you when you are so young, so vulnerable and so trusting as you form the matrix of your life. I want you to experience life in these early days as trusting and feeling protected and safe. Traumas will come to you later and beyond my control, but I intend this to be after you have already experienced that you can trust your parents not to hurt you on purpose.
I have come into this life charged to question the deeper purpose behind what I do. I will not circumcise you my son only because it is tradition. The reasons that I have been given supporting circumcision do not move me, they do not compel me to perform this ritual. Rather my concern for your well being is much greater.

Modern medical science says that a circumcised male is more healthy than a male with an intact foreskin. Modern medical science also told us the tonsils were not important and took mine out. Now I understand the tonsils to be a very important part of my immune system, that I no longer have. The appendix is still considered a useless organ. I don't believe the creator gave us an appendix without reason. My understanding of today is that the appendix aids in finer digestion of our food. As regards to the foreskin, we have been told that it has no purpose. As I have read about the anatomy and physiology of the foreskin, actually it has many important functions. The foreskin is the most sensitive area of the penis, akin to the clitoris of a woman, and it also functions as a protective lubricating sheath for the penis.

When I examined my own penis once I began studying this issue, I found that the area where I have a scar where the foreskin was, is still the most sensitive area of my penis, yet I know that scar tissue does not have the same sensation capacity as original tissue, nor the elasticity of the original. I have wondered what I would have been like without a circumcision, and I think I would have been better off without it. I want to give you the gift of choice.

Many Jewish people today make choices about which Jewish laws and rituals they will follow or not follow. There is much discussion about these choices that we make- whether we will eat pork or not, will we keep separate dishes for dairy and meat dishes as we should not mix meat and dairy. Shall we keep kosher? Do we observe Shabbat? How closely do we follow the customs of observing all the restriction on certain holidays such as Yom Kippur. Of the many customs that are not adhered to in our times, the one that seems to be sacrosanct and unquestioned is the circumcision. Why is this ritual so primary to the Jewish identity?

I forgo pork, I do not mix meat and cheese, I celebrate and honor Shabbat as a very special holiday each week where we light the candles each week and acknowledge our connection with spirit as a family. I especially revel in the New Year of Rosh Hashanah as a time of inner reflection, and I embrace the restrictions on Yom Kippur and the insights I gain through this process of fasting, forgiving and letting go of the past. At the time of Passover, I am fascinated by the meaning and relevancy of the story as it applies to my life today. I celebrate my spirituality in these ways and share them with my family. I declare that I identify myself proudly as a Jew and yet I am choosing to not circumcise you, my son. I will look into my heart and follow my gut.

A passage I read by Ronald Goldman resonated with me, "A central purpose of Judaism is tikkun olam: repairing the world. Much of the pain in the world is a result of repeating old harmful patterns of behaviors. By breaking a chain of pain, forgoing circumcision contributes to our healing. As we heal from this pain, we will be better able to heal others and reach our ethical and spiritual potential."

So my son, you can choose for yourself to be circumcised when you come of age if it is important to you. I believe the psychological damage and painful trauma done to you at 8 days old would be much worse than anything endured at 13, when it may be done on your own accord, if you so choose.

With love,

your father, Gabriel



For more information on Judaism and circumcision, see this resource list.

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Circoncisione

Circumcision 3-D view.

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