Manitoba’s Jewish community is concerned by a proposal from the Canadian province’s medical regulatory body to have all circumcisions performed in medical settings.
B’nai Brith Canada is “calling on members of the community to speak up against potential new restrictions on the critical Jewish ritual of male circumcision, or Brit Milah,” said the organization in a statement.
The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM) is considering altering its “standard of practice” so that members would be banned from performing circumcisions outside of a medical clinic or hospital.
Winnipeg’s Jewish community only learned about the draft regulatory change days before the body stops taking public input, reported CHVN.
The change would reduce the Brit Milah from a religious ceremony to a medical procedure, and this has the province’s Jews worried.
"First and foremost Brit Milah is not a medical procedure but a religious spiritual procedure and thus belongs not in a medical setting but in the sanctity of the home and synagogue," Winnipeg Rabbi Yosef Benarroch of Adas Yeshurun Herzlia Congregation wrote in his synagogue newsletter. "In fairness it seems that there was no malice intended in their proposal. It seems there was an oversight on religious ceremonies. Hopefully, the situation will be rectified, and I believe it will."
In June, the college circulated a draft regulation that proposed its members perform circumcisions, along with several other procedures, such as some cosmetic surgeries and laser therapy to remove skin lesions, only in medical clinics or a hospital setting.
While the college says the regulatory change only applies to members, and that non-members could still perform circumcisions outside those settings, Winnipeg’s main mohel is a medical doctor who is a member of the college.
“The mooted change would have the effect of preventing any future Manitoba mohel from performing traditional Jewish circumcisions while maintaining a medical practice, which is standard across Canada,” said B’nai Brith.
They added that there is no evidence that the CPSM consulted with the Manitoba Jewish community even though the impact of the change on Jewish religious life is obvious.
They noted that a reason for the proposed alteration to regulations has not been provided. They are also not aware of similar restrictions in other provinces.
“The CPSM does not appear to have considered the serious impact upon the Jewish community of this proposed change,” said B’nai Brith CEO Michael Mostyn. “The time is now for Canadian Jews to speak up against attempts to restrict this fundamental Jewish religious and cultural practice.”
B’nai Brith has denounced movements to ban outright male circumcision in Nordic countries such as Iceland and Denmark in the last few years.
They noted that following international campaigns, neither country enacted a ban.
In 2020, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen opposes a bill seeking to ban the non-medical circumcision of boys, saying “Danish Jews must continue to be part of Denmark.”
While this case might appear to be a minor regulatory change, and not a move to ban circumcision outright, B’na Brith said that it would nonetheless “fundamentally change the lives of many Manitoba residents.”
And that has led them to call on Canadian Jews to speak up against the proposal.
“We are also concerned about a potential slippery slope toward more critical blows to Jewish life that we have seen in other Western countries,” said Mostyn.