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Wednesday, July 15, 2020

New York City's Mayor, Bill de Blasio and Circumcision and COVID 19

Nadene Goldfoot
                                                                     
New York City's mayor since 2014, Bill de Blasio (born May 8, 1961) is a very interesting man.  He has defended Israel.  On February 14, 2019, while addressing a rally in New York City about combating antisemitism, De Blasio said: "Maybe some people don’t realize it, but when they support the BDS movement, they are affronting the right of Israel to exist and that is unacceptable."  That's it in a nutshell, he gets to the point.  BDS is a very strong form of anti-Semitism.  
                                                    
De Blasio condemned Ilhan Omar's remarks about Israel and pro-Israel lobbyists as "absolutely unacceptable" and "illogical."  She is a U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019. She is the first Somali-American, the first naturalized citizen of African birth, and the first woman of color to hold elective office from Minnesota. I certainly see this, as well. 
                                                     
Ayanna Pressley
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
                                     
Rashida Tlaib
Ilhan Omar

 Why haven't any other Democrats spoken out about it?  After all, Omar is in a position where she has turned 12 others of her peers against Israel already who have signed onto a letter against Israel.  In fact, she is part of "the squad;  4 young women new to our government  who are all avidly against Israel. 

Well, evidently Ayanna has broken from the squad in voting against BDS. 
"
 Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley cast her vote in favour of Resolution 246, which condemns the Palestinian call for global solidarity in the form of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), many activists expressed disappointment, outrage and surprise."  Good for her!     She has had a history of defending Palestinians against Israel's rights.  
                                                                                                                        
A Berit Milah Circumcision 

In 2015, de Blasio repealed a requirement that mohels inform parents of the risks of metzitzah b'peh, an oral circumcision ritual that was linked to 17 cases of infant herpes, brain damage, and two deaths since 2000. The rule was passed by the city's Board of Health in 2012, which required parents to sign a consent form. This requirement had been called an infringement on religious freedom by ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders, who sued the city in federal court and pressed their followers not to comply. After de Blasio installed allies and donors on New York City's Board of Health, a new policy stated that mohels could be banned for life if they tested positive for herpes and the DNA strain matched the infant's, but only after a child has been infected. It was soon revealed that the city did not disclose new infections. Despite this change, several children have been infected with the disease after undergoing the ritual.

This came to the public light in June of 2012. " In recent weeks, a controversial Jewish circumcision practice gained the national spotlight after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that between 2000 and 2011, at least 11 New York infants contracted genital herpes following ritual circumcision. Two of the babies died. This is distressing news to all who are concerned about the health and welfare of children." Jews do not need any bad rhetoric about Judaism anyway. California almost wiped out circumcision for all a few years ago
in 2011.

I have never ever heard of this oral circumcision.  What I've always known of is that we Jews practice circumcision on our male sons when  the age of 8 days old.  It's done by a special man in the case of a gathering of family as it is a special ritual or even has been done by the doctor in his office.  It's done also by other people as a matter of cleanliness to safeguard from future problems a man could have.  Most American men I would figure have been circumcised.

As it turns out, "The practice, called metzitzah b’peh, or oral suction, is used by a small number of Orthodox mohels (Jewish ritual circumcisers). Many assume this practice is a hallmark of strict religious observance — for better or worse, the ultimate in adherence to Jewish tradition. What’s rarely considered is the way in which metzitzah b’peh conflicts with basic Jewish principles."

Metzitzh b'peh is uncommon even among those Jews who opt for the mohel to
do it and have a real celebrating ceremony. Following the circumcision with this
oral circumcision, this mohel would take a sip of wine and quickly remove the
blood from the penis through the wine, using his mouth. He would then spit the
mixture out. This evidently started in Talmudic times, long before the germ
theory of disease was understood. Then, metzitzah b'peh was once thought
to actually disinfect the wound. Jewish men did not get herpes in those days, evidently.

For Jews it is and has been done by a trained mohel and is called a berit milah (covenant of circumcision) also (covenant of Abraham).  They cut away the foreskin .  
                                                        

Interestingly, in biblical times, male slaves were also circumcised.  It was done in Egypt.  With Jews, it is the sign of Abraham's covenant with G-d.  Male proselytes to Judaism also must undergo circumcision.  An uncircumcised person was excluded from participation in important Jewish rites, such as eating the paschal lamb. Circumcision has taken on more meaning in Jewish history because of the Martyrdom suffered for its sake during the persecutions of Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes of Rome and later by the Romans.   

It became a symbol distinguishing the Jew from the idolator.  

Conversely, Jewish hellenists, wanting to assimilate to the Greek way of life, underwent operations to obliterate the sign of circumcision. To prevent this, the rabbis emphasized the act of periah (pushing back the skin to lay bare the glans) as an indispensable feature of the operation.  

This is a festive occasion to have a son enter into their lives and community.  The father of the son is to recite a special blessing and the godfather (sandak)  holds the child in his lap during the operation.  A chair on which the child is placed before being circumcised is known as the Chair of Elijah.  There are appropriate blessings that follow the operation, being recited over a cup of kosher wine while the child is given his Hebrew name.   

The last thing wanted is any infection or problem pertaining to the penis, for goodness sakes.                            

"De Blasio has been criticized for singling out the Jewish community, following his tweets directed at "the Jewish community" after breaking up a funeral procession. The Anti-Defamation League described de Blasio's actions as scapegoating. It was all about following rules about safe-guarding people from the coronavirus".  "So let’s review. On Tuesday night, there was a Hasidic funeral in Williamsburg. Your own NYPD helped arrange street closures for the funeral with the Satmar Hasidim. People came out to show their respects to the dead. They were wearing masks."  This is a very orthodox Jewish community, and this rabbi was very special.  I feel that most all Americans need more education about this COVID 19 virus and what we are facing, here.  I's horrible.  People still have the old mindset that it's just another flu and everyone will be fine; with only a few old people dying.  That's not the case.  If a few of us in Oregon can educate ourselves about its dangers through the medical community, there is no excuse for New Yorkers not to do so as well.  Get with with it, everyone!  De Blasio is going crazy trying to keep everyone safe and not let this killer expand.  


Yes, they showed up in greater numbers than was safe. That is clear. But the very same police officers who set up the pylons closing the streets to car traffic could have limited the numbers, the way they do on New Year’s Eve around Times Square. What we saw here was therefore a failure of authority. Your authority. Not a failure of “the Jewish community.” And yet, when you announced you were going to the site personally to address this outrage, what you saw were … bad Jews. Bad Jews!"   New York City has 1.2 million Jews!  You blame all of them in your address.  That's not right or fair.  

 New York as a whole has tested more of the state's population than California has, about 257 per 10,000 individuals compared with 54 per 10,000, respectively, as of April 14. As of Monday (April 13), New York's death rate linked to COVID-19 was 513 deaths per million people, compared with California's 17 deaths per million. With more than 70% of the state's related deaths being reported in New York City
Reference: 
https://www.livescience.com/why-covid19-coronavirus-deaths-high-new-york.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Squad_(United_States_Congress)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_de_Blasio
  "New York Mayor Condemns BDS, Calls to Stamp Out anti-Semitism"Haaretz. February 15, 2019.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/metzitzah-bpeh-circumcision-ritual-inconsistent-with-jewish-principles_b_1598281
 Durkin, Jillian Jorgensen, Erin (March 27, 2017). "NYC bars two men from practicing Jewish circumcision after infants contract herpes"NY Daily News.

  1. Associated Press (February 21, 2015). "NYC, Orthodox Jews in Talks Over Ritual After Herpes Cases"USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  2. ^ Otterman, Sharon (September 13, 2012). "Denouncing City's Move to Regulate Circumcision"The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (February 25, 2015). "Mayor de Blasio Is Set to Ease Rules on Circumcision Ritual"The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  4. ^ Otterman, Sharon (January 15, 2015). "Mayor de Blasio and Rabbis Near Accord on New Circumcision Rule"The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  5. Grynbaum, Michael M. (June 10, 2015). "De Blasio Puts Allies on Panel Hearing Circumcision Plan"The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  6. ^ Blau, Reuven (February 24, 2015). "De Blasio administration scraps consent rules for Jewish circumcision ritual"NY Daily News.
  7. ^ Paul Berger (September 25, 2015). "New Controversial Circumcision Rite Rules: Don't Ask, Don't Tell"The Forward. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  8.  "New York City community leaders call out mayor after he condemned a large gathering and singled out Jewish residents"CNN. CNN. April 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Timothy, Bella (April 29, 2020). "De Blasio breaks up a rabbi's crowded funeral, gets slammed by critics for singling out Jews"Washington Post.
  10. https://nypost.com/2020/04/29/bill-de-blasios-new-low-blaming-the-jews/
  11. https://www.cnn.com/2011/10/02/health/california-circumcision-law/index.html

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