Rabbi Jonathan Abraham was arrested for performing a circumcision in Ireland.
Rabbi Jonathan Abraham, a 47-year-old rabbi, mohel (one who performs a brit milah, or Jewish circumcision), and father of ten from London has been held in an Irish jail for weeks, awaiting trial for the “illegal” circumcision of a baby boy. Rabbi Abraham has been denied bail, forbidden from praying with tefillin (the boxes of prayers that Orthodox Jewish men traditionally wrap around their heads and arms during weekday morning prayers), and is denied kosher food.
Limiting Jewish circumcision in Ireland
Circumcision is unusual in Ireland: only 2-3% of Irish baby boys are circumcised each year. Performing circumcision is legal, but with tight restrictions. Inside a hospital setting, only medical practitioners can perform circumcision and only when it’s deemed medically necessary. The Irish press periodically highlights high-profile calls to ban circumcision entirely, calling it “barbaric” and “mutilation”.
Yet Jews, Muslims, and others who wish to have their babies circumcised are allowed to hire a religious figure who’s licensed to do so. With a Jewish population of fewer than 3,000, Ireland has no Jewish circumcisers; when a Jewish family in Ireland wishes to arrange a brit milah (circumcision) for their baby son, they typically fly in a mohel from neighboring Britain for the day.
Jews aren’t the only Irish parents who hire British circumcisers. The Dublin Hebrew Congregation, Shaarei Tzedek, notes on its website: “We receive many requests every year from non-Jews seeking this procedure for their own sons. Many mohelim from the Initiation Society will be happy to perform the procedure…”
Surprise arrest
At just after one in the afternoon, Rabbi Abraham had performed one circumcision on an African baby boy and was about to circumcise a second baby when police knocked on the door of the home where the ceremonies were taking place. Invited in by the homeowner, they arrested Rabbi Abraham, brought him to their stationhouse, and held him two days before charging him.
When he finally appeared before a judge, the charges against Rabbi Abraham were tinged with antisemitism prejudice. Detective Megan Furey recounted how she’d found Rabbi Abraham “dressed in a white robe, a doctor-style coat, with blue gloves and a scalpel in his hand.” Other medical equipment was present at the scene. She “observed a very young child on the changing pad naked.” The judge was told that Rabbi Abraham was a flight risk because he is wealthy.
It seems that by performing a circumcision on a African baby, instead of a Jewish one, Rabbi Abraham had exceeded his authority in Ireland and was no longer allowed to work. In a statement to Aish.com, the Initiation Society emphasised that “On the facts as we know them we have no reason to believe that he acted unlawfully. It is also important to emphasise that there is no suggestion that the circumcision he carried out were performed incorrectly in any way.”
When Rabbi Abraham’s lawyer pointed out that he’s a trained, licensed, and insured mohel and that he would be allowed to circumcise a n African child in England, the judge noted that Ireland is not England. Rabbi Abraham was ordered to remain in Dublin’s notorious Cloverhill Prison, an institution where prison guards are under investigation for brutalising inmates. If found guilty of performing a circumcision without the correct medical license, Rabbi Abraham faces five years in jail and a fine of €130,000.
Denied religious freedom and kosher food
In Cloverhill, Rabbi Abraham’s situation is dire. He is being kept in a solitary cell, prevented from praying with his tefillin, and was denied kosher food. When the Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Yoni Wieder, heard about Rabbi Abraham’s plight, he brought kosher food to Cloverhill Prison and begged the guards to deliver it to Rabbi Abraham. His offer was refused.
Rabbi Abraham appealed to Ireland’s High Court, alleging that his human rights are being abused, which is illegal under Ireland’s Constitution. During his trial, Rabbi Abraham has described his conditions over the past weeks. He’s been eating only breakfast cereal once a day. When he asked for kosher food, he was delivered a piece of chicken which had clearly come from that evening’s prison dinner: it had been placed in a cardboard box with the word “kosher” scrawled on the outside in pen. Chief Rabbi Weider has described his frustration with Cloverhill Prison authorities who insisted that they were providing kosher food to Rabbi Abraham, while never once contacting any Jewish authority nor any kosher caterers about sourcing ingredients.
At his human rights appeal, Rabbi Abraham described his anguish at being refused access to his tefillin, which the prison insists can be used as a weapon by other inmates. “I am in a cell by myself,” Rabbi Abraham told the judge, explaining that no other prisoner would be able to grab his tefillin and use them as weapons. He also described how at least on one occasion, as he was praying in his cell, guards burst in and ordered him to strip to his underpants.
Given the conditions of his incarceration, Rabbi Abraham has begged to be released on bail. The High Court trial is ongoing, but the judge, Ms. Justice Nuala Jackson, has refused Rabbi Abraham’s release, though she has ordered Cloverhill Prison to give him access to his tefillin and to kosher food.
Uncertain future
While Rabbi Abraham’s human rights appeal about the conditions of his imprisonment is ongoing, no date has yet been set for his criminal trial of illegal circumcision. The Irish police have said they will likely ask that even more charges be added to the existing charge of performing a circumcision without the appropriate license. Meanwhile, Rabbi Abraham’s wife, who works part time in London tutoring children with learning differences, is looking after their family alone.
We can all support Rabbi Abraham by making sure he is not forgotten. Follow the news of his unbelievable case, and speak out when sensational news coverage distorts the facts of his case. We also can double down on our embrace of Jewish traditions as a way of showing support with Rabbi Abraham and with Jews worldwide. Let’s show the world that when one Jew is prevented from living a Jewish life, we all embrace that life even more.
