Central Rabbinical Council

After a hiatus, we once again wade into the very uncomfortable waters of metzitah b'feh, the controversial circumcision ritual in which the practitioner, or mohel, sucks the blood from the circumcision to clean the wound. The practice has resulted in the death of at least one child from herpes.

A blog called The Canonist has acquired a letter sent by the city's Health Commissioner, Thomas Frieden, to his counterpart on the state level, Antonia Novello, criticizing the state's protocol to prevent the transmission of herpes from mohels to infants.

Frieden, who has circulated advisories in Yiddish warning of the dangers of the practice, notes in the letter that the state's protocol "does not mention any role for local health officers" and makes clear that his department "does not intend to cede its authority to investigate disease incidence occurring in New York City and to intervene when appropriate."

It's worth noting that back in January, the Central Rabbinical Council asked Frieden to do just that - cede his authority to the state health department, which they assumed would be less aggressive on the issue. The city's criticism of the practice grew into a full out campaign issue in some Orthodox sections of Brooklyn, where some Satmar members bristled at City Hall's interference in what they considered a religious rite (and right). Before Bloomberg's reelection there was even talk of a deal, in which the city would decrease their pressure in exchange for political support.

But according to the letter, Frieden hasn't backed down and is still on the case. He takes issue with language in the state's protocol that suggests that a community could by justified in not cooperating with an investigation into an alleged transmission of the disease. "There is absolutely no justification for not cooperating in an investigation surrounding a potentially life-threatening illness in an infant."

Perhaps the most troubling element of the letter, however, is what Frieden calls his "fourth fundamental concern" with the protocol:

"That the children of parents for whom metzitzah b'peh is not considered religiously necessary may undergo this procedure without the knowledge and/or request of both parents."

- Jason Horowitz

A couple of weeks ago, I described Health Commissioner Tom Frieden's decision not to ban a controversial circumcision practice outright as "backing down." Looks like I read it wrong; and that's certainly not how the community took it.

There have been rumblings of protest in the community since Frieden announced that he would circulate advisories, in Yiddish, warning that the practice could transmit herpes to babies, and that at least one baby had died that way.

But one segment of the Satmar community (supporters of Aaron, if you follow the Shakespearean politics of the Satmar) is pushing back much harder, most recently in an editorial from a Satmar Yiddish paper published in Williamsburg, Der Blatt.

The paper's editors claim to have understood that City Hall made a campaign promise to leave circumcision practices unregulated; now they accuse unnamed intermediaries (read: their communal opponents) of distorting the result of the community's negotiations with the Mayor.

The editorial isn't online. Here are a couple of excerpts from a translation:

"What has been promised to us prior to the recent elections -- and this was the only request we made -- was that the subject of 'Metzitzah B'peh' should completely be untouched by the City Department of Health."

The way the paper sees it, the Mayor himself didn't know what he was supposed to have agreed to:

"[A]t the big rally (in Williamsburg) the crowd heard a fiery speech in the Yiddish language at which the speaker spoke with much emotion and power about 'Metzitzah B'Peh'. But upon switching to the English language so order the mayor should also listen in, he didn't even mention a single word about 'Metzitzah B'Peh'. He spoke only of social issues as housing, crime, and clean streets."

City officials have denied that there was any deal. And note that the allegation isn't that Mike or his aides decieved anyone; it's intra-communal. It was, however, a serious campaign issue in parts of Brooklyn.

A person familiar with the controversy, meanwhile, told The Politicker that the situation has been rising to a head since the Health Department identified at least one other herpes infection, and the community refused to give them the name of the mohel. Tensions rose at a meeting Friday in which representatives of the Central Rabbinical Council (read, in this context, the moderates) asked Frieden to relinquish his authority to the state health department, which they assume will be less aggressive.  read more »

Frieden's response? That would be like asking the rabbis to relinquish their authority to the Catholic Church.