EMERGENCY! Circumcision Ban Threatened in New York City; Immediate Action Essential
(Crown Heights, May 13, 2005)–An emergency meeting was held Friday morning in the offices of the Beis Din of Crown Heights, at which leaders of the Williamsburg Jewish Community met with Crown Heights’ Vaad HaKahal and other community activists to formulate a joint strategy in response to a threat so severe as to bring together all segments of G-d fearing Jews everywhere: proposed action being considered over the next few days by the New York Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene that could eventually lead to the banning of the halachically-required component of the bris milah procedure known as metzitza ba-peh.
The background and events leading up to this alarming and, indeed, well-nigh incredible situation are important for a full understanding of what we are being confronted with. However, as explained below, time is of the essence, and full details will be supplied in the days to come, G-d willing. In the meanwhile, this announcement is being made immediately in order that greater numbers of our Jewish brothers and sisters have the opportunity to put their concern on record – right now. When political decisions are being made, it is crucial to demonstrate substantial popular support.
On or following this Monday, May 16th, New York City officials will decide whether, as some misguided individuals have claimed, metzitza ba-peh constitutes a health hazard, or if the bris milah procedure is one of religion and best left to the exclusive jurisdiction of rabbinical authorities. It is the solemn obligation of each and every one of us to email, fax, or call the Mayor’s Community Assistance Commissioner, before this takes place, and to express our shock, our dismay, our out-and-out horror, that in this, the freest of all the world’s societies – to which many of our people fled precisely for the benevolent protection it offers from those who would interfere with our cherished right to practice the age-old religion of our fathers with loving and meticulous adherence to every holy detail – the coercive might of government should be turned towards suppression of a practice so central to the Jewish religion as to constitute the very sign of the bond between G-d and the Jewish nation. The Commissioner, Jonathan Greenspun, is a frum Jew and a close advisor to Mayor Bloomberg on Jewish affairs. He must be urged to bring this serious matter to the Mayor’s personal attention.
Although, as noted, further details will follow im yirtzeh Hashem, attached are two documents provided at Friday morning’s meeting by Rabbi Aharon Yaacov Schwei, shlita, a member of the Beis Din Tzedek of Crown Heights. They relate to a similar nefarious proposal that threatened the Jews of Yerushalayim over 100 years ago, and contain the unified proclamation of the Ashkenazic and Sephardic Rabbinical authorities of that time to the effect that metzitza ba-peh is an essential component of bris milah and must be defended with all our strength. More recently, in connection with the current crisis, responsa have been issued declaring the safety and continued requirement of metzitza ba-peh by such g’dolei ha-poskim as Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, shlita and Rav Shmuel Halevi Wosner shlita, as well as hundreds of Rabbonim in America.
Shluchim! Leaders of mosdos, yeshivos, and Jewish communities everywhere! It is always hard to translate words into immediate action, but now is not the time to sit idly by and think. Now is the time for immediate action on behalf of the sanctity of our People, our Torah, and our Mitzvos. Please: as soon as you finish reading this, contact the Hon. Jonathan Greenspun, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit, at the numbers provided below and speak out respectfully but forcefully about how seriously you take this matter. Urge all your baalei batim and those you know to do likewise. If you know anyone particularly well suited to help, such as influential politicians, campaign contributors, or attorneys, please enlist their aid in this pressing time of trouble rachmana litzlan.
Especially needed are any contacts you may have among experts in the field, such as infectious disease specialists or pediatric urologists, who would be willing to lend the weight of their expert opinions to those who have communicated with New York City officials on this issue.
May Hashem have mercy on His holy people and protect us from the evil decree, as we just read in the Haggadah on Pesach: for it was not merely one who rose up against us to destroy us – and who, in fact, sought to eradicate the mitzvah of bris milah, which has been a favorite target of our persecutors throughout this long and bitter exile – over the generations, but rather, in every single generation, they rise up against us to destroy us, and the Holy One, blessed is He, rescues us from their hands.
The contact information is:
Hon. Jonathan Greenspun
Commissioner
Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit
City of New York
100 Gold Street, fl. 2
New York, NY 10038-1621
Email: jgreenspun@cityhall.nyc.gov
Phone: 212-788-7417
Fax: 212-788-7754
It may be helpful for our effort if you also send a copy to the Jewish Community Council of Crown Heights, so we can track how many responses are coming in and from where. Send them to: mosherubashkin@chjcc.org.
Sincerely,
Vaad HaKahal of Crown Heights/Crown Heights Jewish Community Council
If you wish, you may paraphrase all or parts of the following text or use it verbatim. If you do, REMEMBER TO SUBSTITUTE YOUR OWN NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE SAMPLES AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE LETTER!
