Now: the following is intended to address the issues of circumcision and sexual abuse in the Orthodox cmnty. A bit lengthy.i hope you'll hear me out. I can be corrected with rationality. Perhaps what I have to say will make sense. Circumcision was charged by God to the Jews. Moses nearly cost his sons their lives because they were uncircumcised. For a devout Jew, circumcision is a serious thing. The idea that circumcision includes sucking a baby's penis is one that I don't know the origins of. I haven't been able to find any reliable source to validate that as a practice; although, I have looked into it. Perhaps, someone can point me to one. The NY Health Dept has an article that seems to be a response to the allegation, but not one that offers any proof.Being an Orthodox Jew, does not automatically make one a pedophile. They have those who like those in authority in the Catholic and other Christian communities ascend to and take advantage of those positions to abuse children. This is a sad reality that must be addressed. There are numerous voices within the Orthodox community that have been raised to work to draw attention to this issue and to provide support for victims. One that you may find of particular interest is: "Thirty-year-old Meyer Seewald... the founder of Jewish Community Watch (J.C.W.), a global advocacy organization whose website features a “Wall of Shame” listing names of those in the Jewish community whom J.C.W. has, through independent investigations, determined to be abusers." (Perhaps some of you would like to join him in making these individuals famous.) Another: "(A) well-known outlet for reporting abusers is a hotline and blog run by the sixty-nine-year-old Brooklyn Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg, which posts videos and photos with accusations against alleged ultra-Orthodox predators.' There are many other organizations that provide various services and use various means to address these issues. These two quotes were taken from the following article. It is fairly comprehensive and gives some insight into how and why the guilty unfortunately get away with what they get away with. You will need to read/scroll down a bit to find the above quotes. https://harpers.org/archive/2019/10/secrets-and-lies-sexual-abuse-orthodox-jews/
Living Lchaim is an Orthodox Jewish YouTube channel that has interviewed several survivors on sexual abuse in that community including Ray of Hope founders. Other links: https://www.zaakah.org/
https://forward.com/opinion/letters/386012/heres-how-the-orthodox-deal-with-sexual-assault/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/orthodox-jews-convene-to-stop-to-domestic-and-sexual-abuse/
These are just a few examples. I found quite a few others. To lump all Orthodox Jews together as pedophiles is to do a great disservice to the victims and their families as much as to those who truly love their children and are not of that mindset. The Rabbis are very highly respected and unfortunately wield a lot of power, not unlike the papacy and others. Not all Rabbis are evil just as not all priests are evil. I was born into a Catholic family and am now an evangelical. It wasn't until I wrote a paper in Catholic high school about some of the history of the papacy that I began to learn about the corruption of the institution. Neither my family nor my Catholic friends and their families were aware and I've never considered any of us guilty by association. One more thought: although there is such a thing as a peaceful Muslim, that would be a limited application of the Koran. Earlier entries in the Koran are peaceful while later ones call for violence against those who disagree. Later entries are considered to take precedence over earlier entries if there is a contradiction. Mohammed's example has paved the way for the the abuse of children and the raping of the innocent if they are not Muslim. In Iran, if a Christian woman is arrested, is a virgin, and refuses to return to Islam, she will be raped before being executed. The reason for this that virgins are automatically granted entrance into Paradise and it would be unthinkable to allow that to an infidel. This is one of many examples. I'm not looking to be contentious. I do seek to try to get a full picture. Ultimately, it seems to me that this is an evil that will appear in any institution where there is an authority/power structure that gives an evil person access to children or other vulnerable populations because such people will always exist. Power in general has within it the potential for both great good and great evil and will attract both types of individuals.
No. It was a thing the Hebrews did. Jews are not the Hebrews (or Israelites) of the Bible.
Although we don't know for sure, it was probably to identify fellow Hebrews. Hebrew women would know a Hebrew man by his circumcision, for example. In those days, men often worked outside in the nude. This would also make it an identifier.
Later, when the Edomites (the actual jews -- admittedly, as described in the Jewish Encyclopedia) took over the Roman province of Judea (they controlled it, subject to higher Roman authority), they took on the practice of circumcision in an attempt to identity steal the Hebrew culture. This is why jews today practice it.
That practice is known as "Metzitzah B’peh."
I don't know if the New York state government would be considered a reliable source, but here you go:
"When a baby is circumcised, some ritual Jewish circumcisers (mohelim) do a practice called metzitzah b’peh. Metzitzah b’peh is when the mohel uses their mouth to suck blood away from the baby’s circumcision wound as part of the circumcision ritual. After metzitzah b’peh, some babies can get an infection."
https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/safe-bris.page
Why didn't you link the article that I just linked?
As far as whether or not it makes a jew a pedophile ... WHY THE FUCK WOULD ANYONE THINK IT IS OK ... AT ALL?
The jewish Talmud is full of disgusting things that jews are taught they should follow as a "good jew" in their religion, such as:
Sanhedrin 55b. A Jew may marry a three year old girl (specifically, three years "and a day" old).
Sanhedrin 54b. A Jew may have sex with a child as long as the child is less than nine years old.
Kethuboth 11b. "When a grown-up man has intercourse with a little girl it is nothing."
If that ain't pedophilia, I don't know what is.
Too many Christians are ignorant of what the jews REALLY believe, according to their own religious text.
"Judeo-Christian" Response to the Talmud:
https://www.stormfront.org/jewish/talmud.html
I do think that most jews are unaware of what the Talmud says, just like most Christians today are unaware of what the Bible really says, when the Hebrew and Greek original words and meanings are considered (many of the English translations are wrong).
Here are two rabbis, one supposedly very respected within Judaism, saying they had no idea about what Hitler wrote in "Mein Kampf," and why he wanted jews out of Germany. If they are experts and didn't know until later in life, most jews probably don't, either. But they should. Worth a watch (they get a lot of side issues wrong, but focus on what Hitler said):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLqXs9hXsA4
A lot to digest. I have some research into what you've brought up here and been saving links to articles. Some Of it, I have yet to look at. It will take time b/c my responsibility keep me from the time itu would like to, but I will get to it. Thank you for taking the time.
Yes, it is an amazing journey you will go on, if you consider ideas that are a bit "off track" of the mainstream Christian teachings (just like the mainstream news, the mainstream medicine, the mainstream education, etc. have all gone off track, as well).
Martin Luther upset the apple cart 500 years ago, and we should have his courage.