Mother ordered to circumcise son appeals ruling

Supreme Court filing comes after Israel’s rabbinical court concluded woman used refusal as leverage in divorce case, fined her $142 a day

Illustrative photo of ritual Jewish circumcision. (Max Yelinson/Flash90)
Illustrative photo of ritual Jewish circumcision. (Max Yelinson/Flash90)

A mother in Israel has appealed to the country’s Supreme Court a rabbinical court ruling requiring her to circumcise her son.

In her appeal filed Wednesday, the mother said the rabbis cannot order her to circumcise her son, who is now a year old.

The Jerusalem rabbinical court last month upheld the ruling of the Netanya rabbinical court ordering the mother to have her son circumcised as per her ex-husband’s wishes or pay a $142 fine each day until the procedure is performed. The Netanya court presided over the woman’s divorce, according to Haaretz.

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

The Jerusalem court said it believes the mother is 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.

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