February 24, 2013
German prosecutor drops anti-circumcision charges against mohel
by
Court says Hof chief rabbi, David Goldberg, who was charged in 2012 after a Cologne court ruled circumcision illegal in Germany, satisfies child welfare requirements.
A statement by the Hof prosecutor on February 21 said that Rabbi David Goldberg of Hof satisfied all requirements regarding child welfare “which are not jeopardized by the circumcision,” the Jewish-German publication Jüdische Allgemeine reported.
“Circumcisions which are applied with the consent of parents or custodians are not subject to criminal liability,” the prosecutor added. [The prosecuter seems to interpret the new law retrospectively.]
Charges were brought against Goldberg last year after a court in Cologne ruled that circumcision was illegal in Germany. Goldberg, who has been working as a mohel in Germany since 1997, said he was very pleased the case was now closed and that there was clarity on the issue.
“I never had any doubts, I still performed circumcisions,” he said. "But I think this is very good news for parents who did have doubts, and for the entire Jewish community.”
The German parliament has since passed a new law allowing circumcision, with some restrictions.
Earlier story
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