Circumcision (file)
Circumcision (file)Flash 90

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, General Director of the European Jewish Association (EJA), on Wednesday called Norway's proposed ban on "brit milah" (ritual circumcision) nothing more than "Jewish exclusion."

The ban was backed by Norway's Children Ombudswoman Anne Lindboe, who called non-medical circumcision a "violation of human rights" and "charlatan."

Rabbi Margolin condemned the move, saying "modern medicines, including non-Jewish international health organizations, overwhelmingly advocate circumcision and its contribution to preventing disease. For three thousand years, Jews have been circumcised and grow up without any traumas."

According to the rabbi there are only 7 circumcisions performed in Norway each year.

The new proposed law comes amid more general calls for a European ban on circumcision, calls which have crossed the Atlantic and been mirrored in Canada recently.

Former MK Professor Aryeh Eldad in early October responded sarcastically to talk of the circumcision ban, saying "the Council of Europe has found at last the greatest threat to kids in the world."

Norway's proposed ban comes as many have noted a general rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, alongside ongoing anti-Semitism in Norway specifically.