By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
BERLIN, Germany – On Sunday, September 9, 2012, a rally of Jewish and Muslim Germans protested in Germany’s capital, Berlin, to demand their religious freedom.
Over 50 Jewish and Muslim organizations staged a protest over a court ruling that was handed down in June. The protest commenced when news surfaced that a rabbi in Bavaria was investigated over the religious practice of circumcision.
The Cologne court determined that the ritual practice of circumcision of young boys constituted “bodily harm” and could not be performed regardless of family religious practices. However, the court noted that the medical procedure could be preformed on older males with their consent. As a result of the local court’s decision, the German Medical Association advised doctors across the country to stop performing circumcisions.
According to the Jewish religion, boys are required to be circumcised by religious leader at eight days old. For the Muslim religion, the age at which the ritual is carried out differs according to family, country and branch of Islam.
One protester stated, “I’m here to stand for the freedom of religious rights.” Dieter Graumann, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, called it “unbearable that we, Jews, are being branded as child tormenters and that Jewish life is being presented as illegitimate in some way.” Furthermore, another Jewish community member stated the court’s decision was a “flagrant intervention in the over-3,000-year tradition of Judaism.”
Despite the Cologne court’s controversial decision, the German government announced their intentions to legislate to overrule the Cologne court’s decision and to legalize circumcision. However, until further legislation is passed, circumcision will continue to be criminalized unless preformed by a doctor, and the state must advise the parents of the risk associated with male circumcision.
The former head of Berlin’s Jewish Community stated, “We were getting sick and tired of all the heated and incompetent gibberish on circumcisions. So today, we want to clarify a few things through our rabbi … what circumcision really is and what circumcision means to our religion.”
For further information, please see:
BBC — Germany Jews and Muslims Protest at Circumcision Ruling – 9 September 2012
The Huffington Post — Muslims And Jews Protest Circumcision Law In Germany After Police Investigate Rabbi – 9 September 2012
Reuters — German Jews, Muslims Unite to Protest against Circumcision Ban – 9 September 2012
The Jerusalem Post — Berlin Jews reject Germany Restrictions on Brit Mila – 7 September 2012
