Berlin – German Jews: Rabbi Metzgers “Interference” In Circumcision Debate Unhelpful

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    shkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yona Metzger (C), speaks at a news conference on the debate about circumcisions in Germany, at the Federal Press Conference (Bundespressekonferenz) in Berlin, Germany, 21 August 2012.  EPABerlin – The German-Jewish community has been up in arms since Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger waded into the ongoing circumcision controversy in Germany.

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    Rabbi Metzger traveled to Germany to meet with top government officials and to advocate for the continuation of circumcision, while Minister Yishai wrote a letter to German Chancellor Merkel asking her to intervene.

    German-Jewish leaders were apparently so incensed by their “unproductive” involvement that the Central Council of Jews in Germany sent a letter to Israel’s ambassador to Berlin saying, “The two both unnecessarily strained the debate and contributed to further uncertainty. This is an unprecedented act of interference in the religious and political affairs of an independent Jewish community outside Israel,” the Times of Israel reports (http://bit.ly/PYdckl).

    The General Rabbinical Conference of Germany was also highly critical, calling Rabbi Metzger’s concern “unhelpful,” and accusing him of asserting authority he does not have. “He’s the chief rabbi of Israel; that is worthy of respect. But he isn’t the chief rabbi of Germany,” Henry Brandt, chairman of the Rabbinical Conference said. “We have an intact rabbinate, both Orthodox and general, so we don’t need him to throw a wrench in the works.”

    The debate over circumcision began in June after a Colonge district court ruled that the ritual was illegal and a mohel was subsequently arrested for performing a circumcision.


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    26 Comments
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    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    11 years ago

    The Jewish Community in Germany is absolutely right. The Israeli Rabbinate should limit themselve to straighten the mess they have with contracdictory opinion and voices . The Apostolic Roman Church has such powers not the Israeli Rabbinate.

    enlightened-yid
    enlightened-yid
    11 years ago

    Why was he counterproductive? Oh wait don’t tell me he went there to ramble about Holocaust and how Germans didn’t care about Jewish babies 70 years ago. You can’t expect Israel’s rabbis and politicians to think or say something productive when they travel abroad, since their only diplomatic strategy is giving Holocaust lessons.

    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    11 years ago

    My humble advice to Rabbi Metzger is to concern himself with more immediate issues. A man named Krauss, follower of the N.K. and residing in Mea Shearim gave a three page interview to the Chief correspondent of the Spiegel in Israel a lady named Mittelstaedt. In this interview he is lambasting Israel and declaring the State an illegality. A report also in European newspapers and in a magazine reports a steady stream of Israelis going to Cyprus for civil marriage ceremonies. The holocaust cudgel will wear out and Rabbi Metzger should restrict himself to the jurisdiction of the Israeli Rabbinate within its confines. Then Mr. Natanyahu is pressing Germany for military aid. The Weizmann Institute has an agreement with the Max Planck Institute in Germany regarding srem cell production. The irony is that in Israel holocaust survivors are clamoring that the Israeli government iskimming off their pensions. Quite a contradiction. There members in the Bundestag who say that the holcaust issue should be ended. Quite a plate full

    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    11 years ago

    According to the Neturei Karta the State of Israel is an illegal entity and this means the Israeli Rabbinate is an illegality too.

    11 years ago

    Just like Yosef Hatzadik came all the way from Eretz Yisroel, to tell the Mitzriyim to do Milah.

    Yitzchok
    Yitzchok
    11 years ago

    “Bubbe meises” The Jews of Europe particularly those in the german speaking countries never speak up when something is done wrong. This issue of bris is not limited to germany, other countries are watching, when they see that by enacting stupidity like this, we; “acheinu b’nai yisroel” won’t just shut up and go away, but will start screaming from Israel to Brooklyn to Timbuktu they will really think about it. The real “chutzpah” is with the “Yiddishe g’meindeh” in Germany that they want to deal with this problem that will affect everyone, the way they always deal with garbage like this. by going quietly and dealing diplomatically, sometimes you need to use the nuclear option. Trust me the Germans are having 2nd thoughts not because of the quite way the jews in that country are conducting themselves.

    Lodzker
    Lodzker
    11 years ago

    sadly this is typical behavior of zionism. the zionists crowned themselves, unrightly so, as the leaders of klal yisroel. therefore their zionist rabbinate should be the leading rabbinate in the world.

    zionists, mind your own business and do teshuva. Id say stay in israel, but you dont belong there either.

    Benny
    Benny
    11 years ago

    Who is Jewish Community in Germany?
    Bunch of non-religious guys who could care less about anything has to do with idishkeit?

    Justleftkolel
    Justleftkolel
    11 years ago

    This is an issue that can affect Jews worldwide, every Jew, especially the Cheif Rabbinate and the Israeli government should speak up and get involved.

    shredready
    shredready
    11 years ago

    I do not know it this is true or not that it was unhelpful but maybe the German Jews knows Germany best

    ShimonHaNasi
    ShimonHaNasi
    11 years ago

    Being quite is not an option for all jews including chief rabbis. Maybe they should have coordinated better with the local rabboim but their emotions got the best of them. Certainly understandable because of Germany’s past.

    ysgib
    ysgib
    11 years ago

    Looking at the “General Rabbinical Conference of Germany” website (http://a-r-k.de/rabbiner/) and seeing female “rabbis”, it all makes sense now.

    11 years ago

    “The General Rabbinical Conference of Germany was also highly critical, calling Rabbi Metzger’s concern “unhelpful,” and accusing him of asserting authority he does not have.”

    That’s not the entire truth. What has happened are two things:

    1. The German Jewish committee was caught napping by the original judgment from the Cologne court, and

    2. The members of the committee think that it is an affront to their kavod to have two Israeli “knights in shining armor” galloping in to save the day.

    Justleftkolel
    Justleftkolel
    11 years ago

    This is an issue that can affect Jews worldwide, every Jew, especially the Cheif Rabbinate and the Israeli government should speak up and get involved.

    Motty
    Motty
    11 years ago

    The “General Rabbinical Conference in Germany” (Allgemeine Rabbinerkonferenz – ARK) surely is no rabbinic authority any frum Jew in the whole world should listen to. Apart from consisting mainly of Reform rabbis – like Henry Brandt who is quoted in the article – they also have female “rabbis” in their ranks who even haven’t been born Jewish but “converted” through Reform – like Gesa Ederberg. The only Torah-oriented rabbinic authority in Germany is the “Orthodox Rabbinical Conference in Germany” (Orthodoxe Rabbinerkonferenz Deutschlands – ORD).

    Anon Ibid Opcit
    Anon Ibid Opcit
    11 years ago

    It wasn’t supposed to be productive. It was supposed to get him attention and bump up his approval ratings with some of his constituents.

    lakewooder
    lakewooder
    11 years ago

    I think, next time the Israelis do something against Judaism, it should be the responsibility of the German Rabbis to come down and make a ruckus.