This is a response to a recent article in the Guardian, in
which journalist Tanya Gold argues that a ban on male circumcision would be
anti-Semitic. You can see the original article here:
Firstly, circumcision is not specific to Judaism. It is also
an important part of Islam, and many people do it for non-religious reasons.
Secondly, noone is talking about banning Jews from getting
circumcised. There are many people, however, (myself included) who think that
circumcising babies should be illegal. A baby may be ethnically Jewish, but in
religious terms, a baby is not a Jew for the same reason that he is not a
Catholic, a Hindu, or a communist. Judaism is a religion – that is, it is a
philosophy, a set of beliefs and a guide to living one’s life. A baby cannot be
religious because he does not have the intellect to understand ideas about
morality, the meaning of life and magic men in the sky. A baby wouldn’t know
what Judaism was if you hit it on the head with a Menorah.
When said
baby grows older and begins to learn about Judaism and other religions, he may
decide to follow the religion of Judaism. At that point, if he wants to get
circumcised, of course he should be allowed to. If I were to wake up one
morning with a sudden urge to have my foreskin removed, I would consider it a
bit of a dick move for the law to stop me doing that. I am, after all, an
adult, and can make my own decisions about what to do with my body.
But a baby is not an adult, and it cannot consent to having
a part of it cut off. Performing unnecessary surgery on anyone without their
consent is assault, and to do it to a child is child abuse, regardless of which
book told you to do it.
The main argument that Tanya Gold makes in her article is
that circumcision is a central part of Judaism. (Well, actually, her central
argument is “I’m Jewish, so you can’t criticise me or you’re a Nazi,” but that
really doesn’t need a counterargument). My counterargument to this is twofold.
- Fuck your religion. Wrong is wrong, and a bad thing is still bad even if a book of fairytales tells you it’s ok.
- Religions evolve. You don’t see Christians burning witches – they realised that that was not a thing that civilised people do, so they stopped doing it. Judaism has produced some of the greatest artists, scientists and thinkers in human history. To reduce all that culture, philosophy, art and profound spirituality to a bit of skin on the end of your cock is to sell your religion, and its long and proud history, short.
So, to sum up, banning circumcision would not be anti-Semitic.
It would be anti-cutting bits off babies.
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