Bill to ban circumcision introduced in Iceland’s parliament

February 2, 2018

Legislation claims the practice violates children’s human rights, places them at risk of infection and causes ‘severe pain’

Lawmakers from four political parties in Iceland introduced a bill in parliament that would ban the nonmedical circumcision of boys younger than 18 and impose imprisonment of up to six years on offenders.
Members of the ruling Left Green Movement, the Progressive Party, People’s Party and the Pirate Party submitted the bill to the Albingi on Tuesday, the RUV news site reported. Together, the parties account for 46 percent of the parliament’s 63 seats.
The measure cites the prohibition of female genital mutilation in 2005, arguing a similar prohibition is necessary for males. The report did not say when the bill would come to a vote.
Advocates of male circumcision, which many physicians believe reduces the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and genital infections, have long objected to the comparison of the practice with female genital mutilation, a custom with no medical benefits that is universally viewed as detrimental to the ability to derive pleasure from intercourse.

The bill calls the circumcision of boys younger than 18 a violation of their human rights, according to the news site, and says it places them at an elevated risk of infection and causes “severe pain.”

Throughout Scandinavia, the nonmedical circumcision of boys under 18 is the subject of a debate on children’s rights and religious freedoms. The children’s ombudsmen of all Nordic countries — Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway — released a joint declaration in 2013 proposing a ban, though none of these countries has enacted one.
In the debate, circumcision is under attack from right-wing politicians who view it as a foreign import whose proliferation is often associated mostly with Muslim immigration. And it is also opposed by left-wing liberals and atheists who denounce it as a primitive form of child abuse.
In 2012, a German court in Cologne ruled that ritual circumcision of minors amounted to a criminal act. The ruling was overturned but triggered temporary bans in Austria and Switzerland.
A similar debate is taking place across Western Europe about the ritual slaughter of animals, which is illegal in several European Union member states.
Iceland, which is not a member of that bloc, has a population of approximately 300,000, including several dozen Jews and a few hundred Muslims.
The article was published on The Times of Israel

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Chief Rabbi Jacobs- Our New Head of Committe for combatting Antisemitism

We at the EJA are proud to announce that Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs has accepted our invitation to head up our Committee for Combatting Antisemitism.
As Chairman of the Committee, Rabbi Jacobs will be our roving ambassador, working with other local EJA committee co-ordinators across the continent, identifying the local issues and the challenges relating to antisemitism faced by communities and advocating at the highest levels of government, both at a bilateral and EU institutional level, to find solutions and enact changes to safeguard Jewish life and practice in Europe.
The EJA places this fight at the top of our agenda. Such an important issue requires a person who is respected, who has gravitas, and who understands the mechanisms and personalities involved in the political process, as well having a forensic and thorough knowledge of the Jewish issues at hand.
So, when we envisaged the creation of this Committee, the natural and obvious choice was Rabbi Jacobs to Chair it.  We have long admired his skill in advocacy in his native Holland at Eerste and Tweede Kamer’s in the Hague and at local Dutch administrative level.
We are delighted to share this important appointment with you and we look forward to sharing news with you about the Committees actions and outcomes in the near future.

Budapest un modello di tolleranza? Ai tempi dell’invasione russa tutto è possibile

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https://www.zazoom.it/2022-06-21/budapest-un-modello-di-tolleranza-ai-tempi-dellinvasione-russa-tutto-e-possibile/11109350/

Motion calling to ban ‘from the river to the sea’ slogan adopted in Dutch parliament

Dutch MP Diederik Van Dijk filed the motion because since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, “there has been a chilling increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the Netherlands. ””The context of the slogan “from the river to the sea” comes directly from the Hamas charter,” according to the SGP member.

The controversial slogan “from the river to the sea”, which is often heard in pro-Palestinian rallies across Europe and elsewhere,  must be placed in an anti-Semitic context at demonstrations, making it possible to take action against it. A motion calling for a ban of the slogan was adopted in the Dutch House of Representatives. The motion was initiated  by the Dutch Christian Reformed Political party SGP.

“More tools for police to tackle anti-Semitic slogans at demonstrations,” rejoiced SGP MP Diederik Van Dijk after his motion was adopted by a parliamentary majority. “No Hamas ranting in our streets or stations.” His motion was suppoirted by several parties.

Van Dijk filed the motion because since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, “there has been a chilling increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the Netherlands. The context of the slogan “from the river to the sea” comes directly from the Hamas charter, according to the SGP member.

The slogan calls for exepelling the Jews from Israel, the annihilation of the state of Israel and for the extermination of all Jews worldwide.

The SGP MP sees little action being taken against the controversial phrase to date. He asked the outgoing cabinet (there is no government in Netherlands yet)  to follow the example of Germany and Austria to place the chanting of the slogan at demonstrations in anti-Semitic context and to include it in the so-called action perspective, so that police and prosecutors can actually take action.

By Yossi Lempkowicz

Motion calling to ban ‘from the river to the sea’ slogan adopted in Dutch parliament

Mega Purim Project

Like every year, right before Purim, the EJA together with Bassad and RCE launched the Mega purim Project.  We have organized and delivered hundreds of Mishlochei Manot to be given in Jewish communities across Europe during the upcoming Purim.
May it be a joyful and peaceful Purim to all.

 

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