Danish parliament to consider becoming first country to ban circumcision of boys

June 4, 2018

There is too much emphasis on the parents’ religious and cultural rights’

The Danish parliament is to consider whether to become the first country to ban boys being circumcised after a petition forced lawmakers to debate the issue.

A citizens’ petition that called for the introduction of a minimum age of 18 for circumcision to protect “children’s fundamental rights” reached 50,000 signatories on Friday, taking it beyond the threshold at which it must be discussed in Parliament.

The debate should take place in the autumn, after the Danish parliament reconvenes, but it is highly unlikely that the bill will pass into law since the government appears to be opposed to such a course.

“We’d be all alone and the first country in the world to go in that direction. That’s our objective analysis,” foreign minister Anders Samuelsen told Altinget.

“It makes us vulnerable and it means that the allies who normally help us in a precarious situation, will, in this situation, not be by our side.”

The defence minister, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, also appeared unenthusiastic.

“I think the political risk is enormous,” he told reporters, going on to cite fears that the issue could provoke outside interference: “One may risk that it suddenly begins to explode on social media.”

Other parliamentarians, however, were in favour of a ban.

“It will put children’s rights ahead of their parents’ religious rights,” said Naser Khader, the spokesman on human rights and legal affairs for the Conservative Party, a junior partner in the governing coalition.

“There is too much emphasis on the parents’ religious and cultural rights,” Khader said.

“For me, it is the main children’s rights [which are paramount]. We have been a pioneer country in many other areas, for example, we have been first movers of homosexuals’ rights and we have been proud. Not [with] children’s rights,” he added.

Proponents of boyhood circumcision say that the removal of the foreskin can reduce the risk of fatal diseases like cancer, but the claims are contested.

However, its prevalence is largely due to religious traditions within Islam and Judaism that revolve around the ideal of cleanliness.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says the health benefits of male circumcision outweigh the risks but not by enough to recommend universal male circumcision.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says doctors should educate infant boys’ parents about the health benefits of circumcision, which it says reduces the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

Lena Nyhus of the group Intact Denmark told The Associated Press on Saturday that her children’s welfare organisation believes “we need to respect a person’s right to decide for themselves” on a possible circumcision when they become an adult.

Around 30 per cent of men across the world have been circumcised, according to a 2007 World Health Organization report.

A recent poll commissioned by Danish TV2 broadcaster found that 83 per cent of respondents supported such an age limit on circumcising boys.

However, the proposal is unlikely to pass since none of Denmark’s main political parties support it.

Earlier this year, Icelandic lawmakers initially backed a plan to ban circumcisions for minors and to give those who performed the procedure possible jail sentences. But after an outpouring of criticism, including from European Jewish leaders, the proposal was dropped.

The article was published in the Independent

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Remembering the horrors of Auschwitz, German chancellor warns of antisemitism, threats to democracy

The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/olaf-scholz-ap-germans-jews-auschwitz-b2485902.html

 

Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday called on all citizens to defend Germany’s democracy and fight antisemitism as the country marked the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau during World War II.

Since 1996, Germany has also marked January 27 as a day to remember the horrors of the Holocaust.

“’Never again’ is every day,” Scholz said in his weekly video podcast. “January 27 calls out to us: Stay visible! Stay audible! Against antisemitism, against racism, against misanthropy — and for our democracy.”

On that day in 1945, Soviet Red Army troops liberated some 7,000 prisoners at Auschwitz in German-occupied Poland. The Nazis murdered more than a million people in Auschwitz, most of them Jews.

In the days before the liberation, the Germans had evacuated tens of thousands of other inmates on foot in what is now called the Death March, because many inmates died of exhaustion and cold in the sub-freezing temperatures.

Altogether, they killed six million European Jews during the Holocaust.

On Saturday, as people in Germany put down flowers and lit candles at memorials for the victims of the Nazi terror, the German chancellor said that his country would continue to carry the responsibility for this “crime against humanity.”

He stressed that the fight against any kind of antisemitism and for democracy is not something that can be done by the government only, but needs the support of all Germans.

“Never again” demands the vigilance of everyone,” Scholz said. “Our democracy is not God-given. It is man-made.”

“It is strong when we support it,’ he added. ”And it needs us when it is under attack.”

Scholz referred specifically to the threat posed by the rise of far-right populists in Germany, elsewhere across Europe and worldwide “who are stirring up fears and sowing hatred.”

At the same time, the chancellor praised the millions of Germans who have joined pro-democracy protests in recent weeks.

“Our country is on its feet right now. Millions of citizens are taking to the streets: For democracy, for respect and humanity,” he said, adding that it was their solidarity “that makes our democracy strong. Showing it confidently in public — as is happening now — is a good thing.”

A report that right-wing extremists recently met to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, including some with German citizenship triggered massive demonstrations across the country. Some members of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, were present at the meeting.

Growing anxiety over the AfD’s rising support among the German electorate also catalyzed pro-democracy protesters.

The AfD was founded as a eurosceptic party in 2013 and first entered the German Bundestag in 2017. Polling now puts it in second place nationally with around 23%, far above the 10.3% it won during the last federal election in 2021.

The party enjoys major support and is leading in eastern Germany, including the states of Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia, slated to hold elections this fall.

One of the oldest German Holocaust survivors, 102-year-old Margot Friedlaender expressed concern about the the spike in antisemitic incidents in the country.

“I would never have thought that it would happen like this again, because that’s how it started back then,” she said on public Television ARD on Friday, referring to the rise of the far-right. Friedlaender said for those of endured the horrors of the Holocaust it is “particularly difficult to understand and very sad.”

President Rivlin hosted Abdallah Chatila, who purchased Hitler artifacts which will be held by Yad Vashem, at Beit HaNasi

President Reuven Ruvi Rivlin hosted Abdallah Chatila, who purchased Hitler artifacts which will be held by Yad Vashem, at Beit HaNasi
President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin today hosted Abdallah Chatila, the Lebanese-born Swiss businessman who bought artifacts associated with Adolf Hitler that auctioned two weeks ago, which will be held by Yad Vashem. World Chairman of Keren Hayesod Sam Grundwerg and Chairman of Yad Vashem Avner Shalev also participated in the event.
The president thanked Mr Chatila for his important act and for the significant thought that stood behind it, saying “your donation is of great importance at this time, when people are trying to deny historical truth. These artifacts, which you are generously making available to Yad Vashem, will help convey the legacy of the Holocaust to the next generation who will not meet survivors.”
The president added, “what you did was seemingly so simple, but this act of grace shows the whole world how to fight the glorification of hatred and incitement against other people. It was a truly human act. I know you have been thanked many times, but it was important for me to say it loud and clear here at Beit HaNasi in Jerusalem – we appreciate it and thank you for it very much.”
Abdallah Chatila told the president “Mr President, it is a great honor to be here. When I read about the artifacts being for sale, I immediately thought I have to buy them and destroy them. Then I thought I have no right to decide what to do with the items, and am so glad they are now at Yad Vashem. I feel a shiver when I understand how important this is for the Jewish people, but I think there is a wider message for the whole world, that ‘never again’ is not a meaningless slogan. Through acts such as this, we can ensure that these things never happen again.”
EJA chairman, Rabbi Menachem Margolin said during the meeting that “In a cynical world, such a noble act of kindness, generosity and solidarity bowled him over”. “it is the first time in years” He continued ” that someone is properly hearing our pain and is taking action because of it.”
“Rabbi Margolin thanked Keren Hayesod for taking the action of Mr. Chatila and making sure this noble thing will become an educational message for the generations to come and documented in and kept by Yad VaShem in Jerusalem.
Chair of Yad Vashem Avner Shalev thanked the president for the meeting and Mr Chatila for his act, saying. “What you did as a spontaneous act ensures that these artifacts do not end up in the wrong hands. You stopped that, and brought them to the place where history is told and where the next generation is educated. Thank you very much.”
Sam Grundwerg, World Chairman of Keren Hayesod: “What you have done by this action is take a very dark chapter from Jewish history and the history of humanity, and shed light on it by andvancing tolerance and hope. You reminded humanity that there are good and decent people in the world who seek tolerance and justice”.

Belgian MP Michael Freilich calls on the Belgian government to cancel its Durban Conference attendance, on behalf of the Belgian N-VA party.

The EJA firmly stands behind MP Michael Freilich’s call to cancel Belgium’s attendance at the 2021 Durban Conference, an action which dozens of other states have already undertaken. The Conference, which is a supposed anti-racism event, fails to address mounting antisemitism.

In the past, the conference has even been a platform for Jew-hatred to be spread. Antisemitic flyers and books, such as the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’, have frequently appeared. Moreover, in the latest event, flyers were distributed of Hitler allegedly saying “What if I had won? The good things; There would be NO Israel and NO Palestinian’s blood shed- The rest is your guess.” According to UN Watch, the UN’s Durban conference has repeatedly exclusively targeted Israel and basic rights of the Jewish people whilst permitting the voices of the hateful to be amplified. U.S. Congressman & Holocaust Survivor Tom Lantos comments: “It was the most sickening display of hate for Jews I have seen since the Nazi period.”

Such an event can not be legitimized through the attendance of national representatives and participation is to be cancelled immediately. The focus on inclusive and pro-active measures to rid society of all types of hate is not to be undermined and should be continued under effective conferences and events.

Council of European Jewish Leaders Meet in Rome Amid Antisemitism Crisis. European governments are not standing behind their commitments to Jewish communities, say council heads.

COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN JEWISH LEADERS MEET IN ROME AMID ANTISEMITISM CRISIS 

 

EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS ARE NOT STANDING BEHIND THEIR COMMITMENTS TO JEWISH COMMUNITIES SAY COUNCIL HEADS  

 

“The test is now” says EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin “and European governments are failing it so far.” 

 

(Rome, 27 February 2024) The European Jewish Association’s Council of Jewish Leaders is meeting in Rome to discuss the challenges faced by European Jewish Communities. 

Despite commitments to safeguard jewish communities and promises to root out antisemtism, too many governments across Europe have done neither, concluded the 40 Jewish heads from across Europe present at the EJA’s Council of Jewish Leaders meeting.   

There is a political and policing failure to act upon anti-hate and anti-BDS legislation already in place, and despite many countries signing up to the IHRA definition, barely any are adhering to its principles.  

The laws and definition are not worth the paper they are printed on right now”, said one Dutch Jewish Community Leader, citing the number of protests advocating genocide and ethnic cleaning of Jews in Israel, and often worldwide by using Nazi tropes and iconography.  

Based in Brussels and representing hundreds of Jewish communities across Europe, the European Jewish Association’s Council meeting is a key decision making body of the EJA, bringing Jewish Leaders together, to exchange insights and develop the strategic and advocacy backbone of EJA activities and policy for the betterment of Jewish life in Europe in 2024.  

 

The Jewish leaders agreed upon an 18 point plan of action for 2024, including increasing Community safety, securing a ban on the sale of Nazi memorabilia and engaging major sports clubs and institutions in fighting antisemitism.  

 

The Council was adressed by Israel’s Special Envoy for Combatting antisemitism, Israel’s Ambassador to Italy, Alon Bar, Italy’s special envoy for combatting antisemitism Pasquale Angelosanto, and the President of the Italian Senate, Ignazio La Russa. 

 

Joel Mergui, the President of the EJA’s Council of European Jewish Leaders and the Paris Consistoire, said at the close of the Conference.  

 

“The Jewish leaders are clear, we refuse to live in fear, we are strong and we will overcome this current tide of hate. It is unnacceptable that calls for genocide and ethnic cleansing as typified by “From the river to the Sea”, and calls for “infidada” are now commonplace, along with nazi symbols and outright antisemitic imagery in regular use.  

 

This is a major cause of antisemitism, and authorities across the continent must do more to stick to their commitments that they have repeatedly given to protect Jews and fight antisemitism.” 

 

The Chairman of the European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, said. 

 

“As Jewish leaders, it is our duty to protect our communities. The message from community leaders on the Council is clear: the EU and governments must translate their nice words on ensuring the safety of Jewish communities into meaningful actions.  

 

“The test of any government commitments in standing up for European jewry is right now. Our council is clear, based on the evidence so far, european governments are failing this test. ” 

Ends.

Gallery: https://ejassociation.eu/eja/the-council-of-jewish-leaders-in-rome/

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