German Parliament Reaffirms Right to Circumcise

Germany’s lower house of parliament passed a resolution Thursday, July 19, reaffirming the religious rights of parents seeking to circumcise their infant sons.

The resolution is hoped to bring a reversal to a previous ruling on June 26 passed by regional court in Cologne, that banned doctors and parents from performing non-medical circumcision on minors. At the time the Cologne’ court’s ruling was widely condemned by both Jewish and Muslim groups as a threat to their religious freedom. Germany is currently home to some 4 million Muslims and 150,000 Jews, many immigrants from the Former Soviet Union.

Rabbi Yehudah Teichtel, Chabad Lubavitch representative to Berlin, notes that the resolution must still pass through the parliament’s ethics committee, the Ministry of Justice and face a definitive vote in the Bundestag. “We hope that if all goes well,” Teichtel says, “[The matter will be resolved] by Fall.”

Despite the need for further parliamentary procedure to reach a definitive ruling, the current resolution has brought hope for continued religious freedom in Germany.

According to a report in the JTA, German lawmakers have said that “‘Jewish and Islamic religious life must continue to be possible in Germany[.]’”