London rabbi charged with carrying out unlicensed circumcision in Dublin
Rabbi Jonathan Abraham, a registered mohel, was remanded in custody accused of violating Ireland’s Medical Practitioners Act of 2007
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
A London rabbi has been charged in Ireland after allegedly performing a circumcision without medical certification.
Rabbi Jonathan Abraham was arrested this week and appeared at Dublin District Court on Thursday, accused of violating the Medical Practitioners Act of 2007.
He was remanded in custody owing to concerns that he would leave the country. If found guilty he could receive a fine of £130,000 and a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.
Ireland is among countries where Brit Milah is legal but subject to restrictions, including that the person performing it must have local certification.
The law is rarely enforced, but was in this instance, even though Abrahams is a registered mohel with 13 years of experience.
Rabbi Abraham, 47, is the first rabbi in years to be prosecuted in the European Union in connection with a Brit Milah.
While Rabbi Abraham’s actions would be entirely legal in England, the judge at his bail hearing was quick to remind his lawyer that he was addressing an Irish court.
A detective told a judge at a bail hearing Thursday 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 told the court.
The detective said she had entered the property in Dublin just after 1pm on Tuesday with the homeowners’ permission.
The lawyer informed the court of Rabbi Abraham’s membership in the Initiation Society, which oversees Jewish circumcision practices, and that he was a certified mohel with 13 years experience.
Detective Garda Megan Furey told Judge Michael Connellan that Rabbi Abraham remained silent when the charges against him were read out at Blanchardstown Garda station. Police opposed bail, citing the gravity of the case.
Rabbi Abraham has been told to reappear at Clover Hill District Court on 6 August.
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