HIKIND & FELDER CONDEMN DEPT. OF HEALTH DECISION ON METZITZAH B’PEH

NEWS FROM
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND

September 13, 2012

Contact: Yehudah Meth                                                       For Immediate Release

718-853-9616 (office)

HIKIND & FELDER CONDEMN DEPT. OF HEALTH DECISION
ON METZITZAH B’PEH

‘MAYOR’S PERSONAL AGENDA ATTACKS DIGNITY OF ORTHODOX JEWS’

TRADITIONAL CIRCUMCISION WILL CONTINUE REGARDLESS OF ANY GOVERNMENTAL EDICT

Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) and NYS Senate candidate Simcha Felder are outraged by the New York City Department of Health’s interference with the practice of performing circumcisions. Pushed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the DOH’s ruling to require parents to give their “informed consent” for any bris involving metzitzah b’peh (oral suction) has left the Orthodox community stunned and hurt, said the Assemblyman, who represents the largest constituency of observant Jews. Hikind and Felder issued the following as a joint statement:

“This attack isn’t just on metzitzah b’peh—a tradition practiced by most Orthodox Jews; it is an attack on Judaism as practiced for 3300 years,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “Telling parents that you require written consent from them before performing religious rites that the mayor finds objectionable thrusts the city deeper into a nannyocracy that has dubious implications. This is a deliberate insult to the intelligence and dignity of Orthodox Jews who live in this city. It is degrading. It is an attack upon the covenant that lies at the heart of our history and culture. Orthodox Jews have historically made it clear that they will practice their religion as they always have, regardless of any government’s attempt to interfere or degrade them.

“The sad implication is that this will dissuade some Jews altogether from performing ritual circumcisions. They will not enter the covenant. The mayor has allowed his personal agenda to impact the lives of these Jewish families forever. This is how he enters the New Jewish Year.”