Life ban for Jewish circumciser

THE botched circumcision of a newborn boy has landed a senior Jewish religious practitioner with a lifetime ban.

The Beth Din, the Jewish religious court responsible for settling disputes, established a commission of inquiry after the baby’s penis was partially amputated during what is commonly known as the bris.

As a result of the incident, the Johannesburg practitioner will not be allowed to conduct this procedure again and all mohelim — Jews trained to perform the covenant of circumcision — will have to be accredited and seek registration every two years.

The drastic sanction against the practitioner follows an investigation commissioned by Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein and the Beth Din.

The inquiry was conducted by retired KwaZulu-Natal deputy judge president Phillip Levinsohn; specialist urologist Dr Michael Cohen and Rabbi Dr Pinchas Zekry.

The circumcision was performed last year and the commission’s findings were announced this month.

The Beth Din said: “In 2014, a circumcision was performed that resulted in devastating and permanent injury to the baby.” No details were revealed of why this circumcision went wrong.

The Sunday Times was unable to establish whether there have been surgical attempts to rectify the partial amputation of the baby’s penis.