The ritualistic mutilation of young boys is a practice that will forever baffle me. Originally it was an Egyptian tradition, reserved only for the royal family. Like all fads, it was eventually abandoned by most of its practitioners, save one: the Jews, who believe that the act of cutting off the foreskin of the penis is part of their covenant with God, who does not seem to be a fan of this particular piece of flesh.

In America, plenty of Gentiles are also circumcised. It’s estimate that about half of American males have been mutilated. It doesn’t hurt that this practice is a cash cow for doctors, who often cite poorly conducted studies on its supposed health benefits. Little is discussed of the physical trauma of cutting off one of the most sensitive areas of a young child without any anesthesia. After watching a few of these procedures, where the children often go into a kind of shock, you’d have a hard time keeping your lunch down.

The pain of this procedure is not the only dangers that these vulnerable children face. In Orthodox Judaism, the mohel who cuts the foreskin will also use his mouth to suck on the penis of the baby, supposedly in an effort to “disinfect” the wound. Instead, these disgusting individuals often carry sexually transmitted diseases, which are then passed on to the child. Naturally, this religious minority is extremely secretive, which means that this kind of abuse goes completely under the radar. Even when it comes to light, authorities will usually trip over themselves to avoid arresting or pressing charges against these mohels, for fear that they might anger the Orthodox community, which tends to have a great deal of voting power.

So, what is Rochester doing to prevent more babies from getting infected? Well, they certainly aren’t prosecuting the people involved. No, instead they are printing out brochures warning people not to allow their religious leaders to engage in their disturbing practices. “you can do it if you want, but know the facts” was one victim’s statement.

I guess giving diseases to babies is kosher, so long as there’s a religious ritual to justify it!