After a Cologne court
ruled that circumcision was illegal, there were those who argued that the decision would
not impact Jewish life in Germany. We were cautioned not to jump to conclusions
since it was just one court, whose jurisdiction was limited. The reaction of
Germany’s political leadership, particularly Chancellor Angela Merkel, was
exemplary as the parliament voted to take up a bill legalizing the ritual in
the fall. But, as today’s news reveals, the optimists did not count on the
willingness of many Germans to support the court.
As the Times of
Israel reports, criminal charges have been filed against a rabbi in Northern Bavaria for
performing circumcisions. According to the Juedische
Allgemeine, a
Jewish weekly, the state prosecutor of Hof confirmed that charges had been
filed against Rabbi David Goldberg, who serves the community of Upper Franconia
for “harming” infants by performing the rite of brit milah, the covenantal
ritual at the heart of Judaism. A Hessian doctor that cited the Cologne court’s
ruling brought the charges against the rabbi. While the rabbi has not yet been
tried, let alone convicted, the spectacle of German courts prosecuting a Jew
for practicing Judaism doesn’t just awaken echoes of the Holocaust. It also
sounds a warning that the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Western Europe is not
a passing phase.
In recent decades, Jewish life in Germany has thrived as immigrants in the
prosperous nation have revived communities that were long dormant. But this
episode unfolding in the one country where awareness of the consequences of
anti-Semitism are so well known should send chills down the spine of Jews
around the world.
Circumcision opponents may claim they are not anti-Semitic, especially
since their campaign also targets Muslims. But there is little doubt that the
driving force behind this movement is resentment toward Jews and a willingness
to go public with sentiments that long simmered beneath the surface in Germany
and elsewhere in Europe.
Just last week, French scholar Michel Gurfinkiel
wrote on his blog that anti-Semitism has increased in France
since the Toulouse massacre in March. Since then violence has grown, fed by
what he calls a rejection of Jews and Judaism. In France, these sentiments are
fed by the Jew hatred openly expressed by the expanding Muslim population.
Throughout Europe, the demonization of Israel hasn’t just increased hostility
to the Jewish state; it has served as an excuse for anti-Semitism to go
mainstream for the first time since World War Two. Just as some claim
circumcision critics aren’t intrinsically anti-Semitic, there are those who
blame anti-Semitism on Israeli policies. But when you add all these factors
together what you get is an undeniable upsurge in Jew-hatred.
While we trust that Chancellor Merkel and the Berlin government will find a
way to quash this latest disgraceful attack on Judaism, we need to realize that
this won’t be the last such episode. The strength of Europe’s traditional
pastime of Jew-hatred should never be underestimated.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/08/21/german-circumcision-ban-bags-first-victim-anti-semitism/#more-802893
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