AG sides with mother who refuses to circumcise son

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein argued Tuesday that a rabbinical court had overstepped its jurisdiction when it ordered a mother to have her son circumcised.

The woman had appealed to the Supreme Court in December, claiming the rabbinic court cannot order her to circumcise the boy, who is now over a year old.

In an opinion submitted to the court, Weinstein voiced his support for the woman’s appeal, saying he was skeptical as to whether the rabbinic court’s decision was made on the basis of the child’s welfare.

In November, the Jerusalem rabbinical court upheld the ruling of the Netanya rabbinical court which ordered the mother to allow the procedure, as per her ex-husband’s wishes. Alternatively, it ordered her to pay an NIS 500 (or $142) fine each day until the procedure was performed.

The Netanya court had also presided over the woman’s divorce, according to Haaretz.

The boy was not circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, as per Jewish custom, due to medical problems, according to reports.

The Jerusalem court said it believed the mother was using the circumcision as leverage in her divorce, but she told Haaretz last month that she “started reading about what actually happens in circumcision, and I realized that I couldn’t do that to my son.”

The mother has not been identified in media reports.