A London rabbi has been arrested and charged by a court in Dublin over accusations that he carried out illegal circumcisions on non-Jewish children in Ireland.
Det Garda Megan Furey told the court that police had entered a property in Dublin just after 1 pm on Tuesday and saw the rabbi “dressed in a white robe, a doctor-style coat, with blue gloves and a scalpel in his hand.”
A table in the room had scissors, a changing pad, and other medical equipment on it, she said.
Officers saw “a very young child on the changing pad naked” and another child who had already been circumcised.
While mohels perform circumcisions in line with Jewish tradition in Ireland and are legally allowed to do so, non-religious circumcision is considered a medical procedure rather than a religious ritual and requires a separate medical license.
Rabbi Jonathan Abraham, 47, was denied bail on Thursday when he appeared at Dublin District Court charged with carrying out a surgical procedure without being a registered medical practitioner.
Rabbi Abraham’s solicitor, Tertius Van Eeden, told the court his client was a member of the Initiation Society, an Anglo-Jewish organisation which is associated with the London Beth Din and regulates brit milah in the UK.
Rabbi Abraham is a registered mohel, trained to perform circumcisions, has done so for more than 13 years, and is insured to do so, Van Eeden said.
When the solicitor claimed that Rabbi Abraham’s actions would have been legal in Britain, the judge noted that Ireland is a separate jurisdiction.
Ireland’s chief rabbi told the JC the country’s Jewish community is “fully compliant” with all laws concerning brit milah.
Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder said non-Jewish parents would likely have employed a mohel to carry out a circumcision because of their high standards of care towards children.
“They have a reputation for performing the procedure competently,” he said.
The chief rabbi added: “The Irish Jewish community is fully compliant with law around circumcision and will continue to be so. We are doing everything in our power to ensure it will continue to be fine.”
A statement released by Rabbi Wieder and the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, said the organisations were "on top" of the situation.
“We and other relevant parties are doing everything we can for this man's welfare, and to ensure that traditional Jewish circumcisions can continue to be performed legally in Ireland,” they said.
A 2006 report on “cultural male circumcision” published by Ireland’s Department of Health and Children found that Orthodox Jewish circumcisions in the country are carried out with parental consent, are in the interest of the child, and are competently performed.
"The committee is not aware that any significant problems have been attributed to Orthodox Jewish circumcisions in Ireland,” it said.
"Rabbinical circumcisers are trained by the Initiation Society in the UK. The committee is satisfied that the practice of neonatal Orthodox Jewish circumcision be permitted to continue in this jurisdiction but recommends that the situation be kept under review.”
