The Bobcat Nation

I can't say that I was ever aware that this sort of thing was practiced. Hitchens in his usual form, but on a rather unique topic:

http://www.slate.com/id/2125225/nav/tap1/

sounds like sombody is a little confused on govermen't roll in religion...we are going to do a study on this practice but we are not going to tell them what to do. why not save your money and not do the study, while strongly encurageing that that practice is abandoned?

I think Hitchens agrees with you to some extent -- he doesn't understand the study part of it either. Although he goes to a much stronger position of declaring the practice to be child abuse/murder that (regardless of the religious traditions) should be treated as illegal practices and not tolerated. I can't find any wiggle room from which to disagree with his conclusion on this one.

Reading the quotes in the article, it appears that simply discouraging the practice isn't going to slow down the practice at all.

:looking for the "puke" smiley:

okay I'm from a Jewish family, and have never seen the blood sucked off any babies penis. my son had his done in the hospital, because I din't want a bunch of happy drunks gathered around him when he got "snipped". i don't think this is as common as he made it sound. none of the men in the family have had this happen to them, and they all had the "traditional" ceremony.

Yeah, I agree. I read it as a quite rare practice as well. It's probably just a couple really super-strict orthodox types who are doing it. It's just a bit shocking that anybody still thinks it is a good idea.

I never suspected that it was anywhere near a mainstream Jewish practice.