Poll: 45 percent of Britons favor banning shechitah

Published on March 29, 2013

About 45 percent of 1,900 Britons polled favored banning Jewish ritual slaughter and 38 percent said they favored banning nonmedical circumcision.

German lawmakers propose barring circumcision before age 14

Published on November 14, 2012

Some 50 lawmakers in Germany have signed on to a proposal that would bar ritual circumcision for boys under the age of 14.

Jewish groups sue NYC over circumcision rule

Published on October 12, 2012

Orthodox Jewish groups have sued New York City to block a required warning to parents of the dangers of a ritual in which the circumciser uses his mouth to draw blood from the baby's penis.

Berlin demonstration calls for right to ritual circumcision

Published on September 10, 2012

Jews and Muslims in Berlin demonstrated for the right to carry out ritual circumcisions, a right that has been endangered in Germany.

What should Jews do about the circumcision crisis?‎

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on August 24, 2012

Germans launch pro-circumcision petition

Published on July 30, 2012

Two Jews and a Muslim in Germany have started a pro-circumcision campaign to counter a court ruling that bans the practice.

July 29, 2012

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on July 29, 2012

July 18, 2012

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on July 18, 2012

Tzohar rabbinical group to start secular-friendly brit milah program

Published on July 10, 2012

The Tzohar rabbinical organization, which helps to involve non-religious couples and their families in religious wedding ceremonies, is introducing a brit milah program.

German court ruling on circumcision riles Jewish community

Published on June 27, 2012

Germany’s top Jewish leader called on the federal Parliament “to ensure religious freedom” following a Cologne court ruling that said circumcising young boys on religious grounds amounts to grievous bodily harm.

N.Y. health board proposes consent waiver on circumcision rite

Published on June 13, 2012

New York City health officials have proposed requiring that Jewish parents sign a consent waiver in order to use a controversial circumcision-related rite.

Cost to keep circumcision off ballot: $100K

By Jonah Lowenfeld
Published on November 8, 2011

In the very public fight over a ballot measure aiming to ban circumcision of underage males in San Francisco, the Jewish-led coalition that succeeded in keeping the practice legal in the city spent more than six times what the ban’s proponents did.

Mohel performs 4,500th brit

Published on August 17, 2011

A mohel in Ukraine performed his 4,500th ritual circumcision.

Anti-circumcision:  Is this equal to anti-Semitism?

By Norman Lavin, M.D, PhD., UCLA Medical School
Published on June 30, 2011

Believe it or not, an American city, San Francisco, is voting to proscribe one of the central rituals of an entire religious community, the Jewish people, who have been circumcising male infants since the time of Abraham.

In S.F. circumcision ban battle, unusual tactics on both sides

By Jonah Lowenfeld
Published on June 27, 2011

Proposed circumcision ban not merely a parochial concern

Published on June 23, 2011

Circumcision, or "brit milah," has long been the stuff of cheap jokes and comedy. But in recent weeks, what used to be nothing more than harmless fare has taken on a much more serious tone. So-called “intactivists” on the fringe left of American politics have pushed the radical notion that infant circumcision is an act of genital mutilation, so unacceptable in fact that it ought to be illegal.

Coalition sues to keep circumcision ban off S.F. ballot

By Jonah Lowenfeld
Published on June 22, 2011

The Jewish-led coalition working to defeat a San Francisco ballot measure that would ban circumcision there filed a lawsuit on Wednesday morning.

Top 10 sharpest circumcision ban headlines

By Jay Firestone
Published on June 7, 2011

Reaching Out

Published on March 30, 2011

In our postmodern age, it’s fascinating to note that Jews still widely observe several biblical-era practices. Two among them stand out: brit milah (ritual circumcision) and Pesach (Passover). It’s also worth mentioning that Elijah the prophet plays major roles during both. Elijah is the honored guest at every circumcision, with a special chair — the Kisei Shel Eliyahu — reserved for him. He is also the honored guest at every Pesach seder, with the fifth cup of wine — the Kos Shel Eliyahu — poured especially for him, and he is treated to a special welcome when we open the door for him.

VIDEOS: Wassup 2008 meets Jewish Wassup

By The Web Guy
Published on October 27, 2008

VIDEO: The Bris Saver

By The Web Guy
Published on August 11, 2008

It was an ordinary brit milah -- until the mohel passed out cold . . .

Don’t click on this story about a ‘circumcision accident’

By JewishJournal.com
Published on November 15, 2007

It’s all downhill from here

By Rabbi N. Daniel Korobkin
Published on April 19, 2007

There are some fascinating prayers that we say at a baby boy's brit milah (ritual circumcision ceremony), a mitzvah that is highlighted in this week's Torah reading.

Is circumcision a requirement for conversion?

By Roberto Loiederman
Published on March 15, 2007

"I don't understand the fuss people make," he said. "In Africa now they're circumcising thousands of adult men for AIDS prevention. If it were such a big deal, don't you think word would get around and the men would stop doing it?"

Moms-to-Be Seek Religion Reconnect

By Sharon Schatz Rosenthal
Published on March 31, 2005

Shlepping around with swollen feet, a growing belly and mounting exhaustion is a challenge for any mom-to-be, but Beth Saltz is determined to go to Shabbat services as often as she can for the rest of her pregnancy.

"I feel I need to do it now before the baby is born," said Saltz, a Woodland Hills resident who is five and a half months pregnant with her first child. "Sometimes parents don't work on their own spirituality and beliefs until the child is older, but I think it's important to do it now."

At this turning point in her life, Saltz views Judaism as more important than ever -- and she's not alone.