“What are these for?” the security guard asked as three others inspected my Bris kit. Whenever I travel for work and I’m away for 36 hours, I never check a bag, so this makes the x-ray machines interesting.
There are times I’ve lied and said I make jewelry, but since Dubai males are 90-percent circumcised, I decided to come clean. “I perform circumcisions,” I replied. They looked at me with blank stares. “You know, the operation done to a baby… on his…” The light went off and all three in unison sang, “OOOOHHH!” It felt like I was in a movie.
I have many stories like this, most of them involving my luggage. People love to talk about Israel, Judaism and Brit Milah, even in the most unexpected places. But as a recent trip approached, the news gave me pause.
Rabbi Jonathan Abraham, a well-respected mohel from the UK, was arrested for performing circumcision without being a doctor, on the basis that circumcision is a medical procedure. The details of the story are still being released, but what is known is that the rabbi traveled to Ireland, which he had done many times before, to perform circumcisions for a number of Muslim boys.
In the court proceedings, the detective testified that she entered the home to find one baby on a changing mat, who had already been circumcised, while Rabbi Abraham was preparing to circumcise another child. The mohel was refused bail and could be sentenced to 5 years in prison and perhaps fined up to 130,000 euros. The arrest has come as a deep shock, as it has appeared to be settled law in Ireland that circumcision carried out for religious and cultural reasons is not classified as a medical procedure.
For traveling mohalim, this is a rather disconcerting story. I flashed back to all the Britot I had done in the past. I have certification to perform Britot in Sweden, but no other Jewish community mentioned any legal requirements for being such a practitioner.
My mind was flooded with questions. The most pressing was: why was this mohel arrested given the understanding of the law in Ireland? Most articles on the arrest quote a 2007 law that requires practitioners to be medical professionals, which this rabbi is not. But as we all know, it’s 2024 and this is the first time this has happened in the region. Could something else be at play?
It goes without saying that the climate for Jews is not good right now. Israel is a hot-button topic all over the world and every day there seems to be more news of a growing wave of antisemitism. I hate to ask the question, but does it feel as if it was only a matter of time before something like this would happen?
The good news is Rabbi Abraham is a member of the UK Initiation Society, the institution which trains and regulates religious circumcisers. The organization has been on top of this case from the outset. Even though he was originally denied Kosher food and Tefilin, the Initiation Society is making sure that both Rabbi Abraham and our core religious values are safe. But there are no guarantees.
The same uncertainty applies for Brit Milah in Europe and around the world. There are many communities without a local mohel. The practice is kept alive in these areas by traveling mohalim, like myself, who visit regularly to provide this essential service. It’s quite possible that mohalim will be scared off from travel — or at least think twice before going for fear of such reprisals.
This is the first time a rabbi has been arrested for performing circumcision since the time of the Nazis. The tension surrounding Israel, and Jews more broadly, does not appear to be subsiding. I pray that next time I’m called on to perform a Brit outside of Israel, I will have the strength to do so. I will definitely do diligent research beforehand to lessen the possibility of a run in with the law. My hope is that Rabbi Abraham will be home with his family soon, and that we mohalim can band together to keep our age-old commandment alive.
The writer is a rabbi, a wedding officiant, and a mohel who performs britot (ritual circumcisions) and conversions in Israel and worldwide. Based in Efrat, he is the founder of Magen HaBrit, an organization protecting the practice of Brit Milah and the children who undergo it.