London rabbi held in Ireland allegedly for performing unlicensed circumcision

A rabbi from London is arrested and denied bail as he faces criminal prosecution for allegedly performing a circumcision without having the necessary medical credentials.

Jonathan Abraham, who was arrested Tuesday faces a maximum fine of €130,000 ($140,000) and five years’ imprisonment for allegedly violating Ireland’s Medical Practitioners Act 2007.

A detective tells a judge at the bail hearing that she encountered the rabbi inside a domicile “dressed in a white robe, a doctor-style coat, with blue gloves and a scalpel in his hand” next to a changing pad, scissors and other medical supplies and implements.

“A very young child on the changing pad naked” had already been circumcised and another one was about to be, she tells the court, according to the Irish Times.

Abraham’s lawyer tells the court he is a certified mohel, a person who performs circumcisions in accordance with the Jewish faith and tradition, with 13 years of experience.

Ireland is among multiple countries where Brith Milah — the Jewish circumcision of males that is typically performed on babies eight days after they are born — is legal but subject to restrictions, and the person performing it must have local certification. These laws are rarely enforced and often difficult to follow in small Jewish communities that depend on practitioners from abroad.

Abraham is the first rabbi in years to be prosecuted in the European Union in connection with a Brith Milah. He is expected to appear for another court hearing on August 6.