IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE..NO...IT'S THE JEW MOHEL FORESKIN MAN!!!

KEEP YOUR JEWISH TRADITIONS TO YOURSELF!

The "Monster Mohel" comic book is one of two titles in the "Foreskin Man" comic book series – which was created by the president of the Male Genital Mutilation Bill group and one of the leaders of the anti-circumcision legislation movement, which has succeeded in getting their controversial measure on the November ballot.

"This is a sensitive, serious issue where good people can disagree and which the Jewish community feels is an assault on its values and traditions going back thousands of years and centered in the Hebrew Bible," Appel said in a statement. "It is one thing to debate it, is another thing to degrade it. 'Foreskin Man,' with its grotesque anti-Semitic imagery and themes, reaches a new low and is disrespectful and deeply offensive," she said, adding that " Some of the imagery calls to mind age-old anti-Semitic canards such as the blood libel, the accusation that Jews ritually murder Christian children." Mohels are those who are specially trained to perform the traditional Jewish male circumcision ceremony. Supporters of the ban say male circumcision is a form of genital mutilation that is unnecessary, extremely painful and even dangerous. They say parents should not be able to force the decision on their young child. If the measure passes in November, circumcision would be prohibited among males under the age of 18. The practice would become a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to one year in jail. There would be no religious exemptions.MORE AT SSOURCE

Jewish groups oppose circumcision ban in San Francisco

Jewish groups and others are up at arms over an attempt to outlaw male circumcision in San Francisco by putting the issue to a popular vote.

Self-described "intactivist" Lloyd Schofield has been collecting signatures for a voter initiative that would criminalize infant circumcision in the Californian city.

After two months of collecting names, he claims to be more than half way toward getting the 7,168 signatures he needs by late April to put the matter on the November ballot.

Schofield and a growing community of anti-circumcision activists say that infants should not be forced to participate in what is essentially culturally accepted genital mutilation.

They claim that the procedure can cause health risks and diminished sexual function and compare it to the clitoridectomies performed on girls in parts of Africa.

"This is a human rights issue," he said. "What you're doing is you're taking an infant and removing the most sensitive part of their body."

Jewish organizations have pledged to fight the measure should it be placed on the ballot. Anti-Defamation League director Daniel Sandman called Schofield's effort discriminatory and misguided.

"This is hurtful and offensive to people in the community who consider this a coveted ritual," he said.

Abby Porth of the Jewish Community Relations Council charged Schofield with wasting city resources for an inappropriate political stunt that was unlikely to become law.

"This is one of the most fundamental practices to our tradition of over 3,000 years," she said. "It's symbolic of our covenant with God."

Porth said the Jewish community would form a coalition against the initiative with medical professionals and Muslims, who also practice circumcision.

"It's very similar to those of the Jewish faith," said Omar Nawaz of the Bay Area-based Zaytuna College, one of the nation's only Muslim colleges. "It's a religious tradition and it's important for us."

Both pro- and anti-circumcision advocates make health claims, but the medical research does not firmly support either position.MORE

Thank you Battleskin~

New Circumcision Research Is Changing Minds

From CafeMom

hard to find a more contentious parenting issue than male circumcision. Okay, extended nursing in public -- that might do it. But if you want a fight, simply declare, loudly and proudly, that you're an intactivist. Or you just got back from a bris, and wow was it magical!

To add another element to the argument, new research has not only the Center for Disease Control but also the American Academy of Pediatrics coming out with a strong stance on circumcision, whereas before they stood back and let other people duke it out. And one side of this penile debate is not going to be happy. 

After research showed that circumcision helps prevent not only STD transmission, but also HIV, the AAP and CDC are drafting a pro-circ position. Of course, we don't know what the two authoritative organizations are going to say exactly, so it could still lean "but you go ahead and do what you think is best." Which, quite frankly, is what today's modern parent is going to do regardless of the recommendations.

Because if you think circumcision is mutilation, this study isn't going to sway you. Although if you were somewhere in the middle and had a big decision to make, it's possible you would go with the circ to help with the odds of your son contracting a disease down the line. That is what intactivists are afraid of: a trend that has turned back the recent progress in the movement.

Today about 50% of baby boys are circumcised, which is the lowest rate seen in modern times. Having two well-respected medical sources endorse the health benefits of circumcision could change those stats. As someone who believes it's no one's business what goes down in anyone else's pants -- cut or uncut -- I know it would make me think twice if faced with the option again today. Whether or not it would actually sway me? I dunno.

I would hope the kid always carried a condom, but as a former teenager, I also know that's not realistic. So yes, this throws a monkey wrench in the argument when you start thinking about the safety of your own child.

What do you think about this new research, and the CDC and AAP taking a new position?