Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Over the years I've lived in Israel, many people -- both Americans and Israelis -- have asked me how I can possibly feel good about living in a perpetual war zone when I come from a land so notable for its comforts, strategic depth, and general lack of jihadist death cultists in the immediate vicinity.
It's a good question. The fact is that in Israel, despite the weird lack of canned soup, dearth of decent English-language bookstores, and propensity of some of the neighbors to proclaim their desire for me and my family to leave Earth as soon as possible, I feel happier. Why is that? Because I feel safer here. Denial, you say? Cognitive dissonance? Well, maybe a little. But there's some logic to it.
There are two main reasons why I feel the way I do. The first is I feel confident that my government and my army understand the reality of the threat we're up against. The second is I don't have to fear that I will wake up one morning to discover that my neighbors have turned on me because of my religion.
This brings me to this anti-circumcision business in San Francisco.
As you may have read, a bill to ban circumcision will appear on the city's November ballot as a result of a petition signed by more than 12,000 residents. If passed, it will become a misdemeanor to circumcise a boy younger than 18, with a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a fine of $1,000. The only exemptions would be medical; no religious exemptions allowed.
Circumcision is performed on male Jews at the age of eight days as a sign of their covenant with God, so there are obvious implications for Jews who happen to procreate in San Francisco. It's important to note that the bill would have implications not only for them, but for Muslims, who also circumcise their boys.
You might miss that point, however, if you examine some of the materials that are appearing in support of the bill. A group, cleverly titled The Male Genital Mutilation Bill, has put together two comic books. The cast of characters includes Monster Mohel, whose image appears above. He is described on the handy trading cards that accompany the comic books thus: "Nothing excites Monster Mohel more than cutting into the penile flesh of an eight-day-old infant boy." He is assisted by Yerik:
Yerik is Monster Mohel's right-hand man and heir apparent. His cunning and depravity make him extremely useful when situations get out of control.
Some have whispered that Yerik is even more dangerous and sadistic than Monster Mohel himself. But Yerik has proven his loyalty time and time again, even though he sometimes gets carried away.
Monster Mohel, Yerik, and their mentally sub-par, sidecurl-sporting, automatic-weapon-toting flunky Jorah are thwarted in their dark plans by -- I wish I was kidding -- a blond, buff superhero named Foreskin Man, who appears to all a mild-mannered businessman but is in fact a protector of infant boys from evil Jews:
Frustrated by society's failure to protect its most vulnerable citizens, Foreskin Man has taken up the fight against genital mutilation.
Aided by the power of his technologically advanced plasma boots, Foreskin Man flies above the city to hunt down criminals who cut the genitals of innocent boys.
It is the dawn of a new era. Circumcisers, beware!
Matthew Hess, president of the group lobbying for the passage of the bill, wrote both installments of the comic, which he insists aren't anti-Semitic. “Brit milah is child abuse in a religious context,” he said in a statement. “Why should an eight-day-old infant boy be forced to give up his foreskin for someone else’s spiritual beliefs? We need laws to protect male children from this painful and scarring blood ritual, and our second Foreskin Man comic book was created to get that point across.”
The Jewish community in San Francisco is being strangely (perhaps not so strangely) quiet about all this. The rabbi of the local Chabad (Lubavitch) house went on record as opposing the bill, but other than that, the tribe -- which is comprised, in that part of the country, of primarily secular liberal Democrats -- is keeping quiet. The Anti-Defamation League, bless them, came out strongly against the comic books. "Foreskin Man, with its grotesque anti-Semitic imagery and themes, reaches a new low and is disrespectful and deeply offensive," said Nancy J. Appel, ADL Associate Regional Director, in a statement. "This is an advocacy campaign taken to a new low ... It is one thing to debate [the issue], is another thing to degrade it...This is a sensitive, serious issue where good people can disagree. No matter what one’s personal opinions of male circumcision, it is irresponsible to use stereotypical caricatures of religious Jews to promote the anti-circumcision agenda."
In Israel, we have a lot on our plate, but this is one kind of malarkey we don't have to deal with. This imagery is straight out of Nazi propaganda, but it came out of California in 2011.
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Feb '11
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Err, Rudolf Hess?
May '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Saw this a few days ago, I thought Der Sturmer closed down in '45
Well, Der Ewige Jude(nhass) never dies.
Of course not a word about Female Genital Mutilation, the clitoridectomy and worse of girls by some African cultural groups , and more prevalent amongst some Muslims, (not exclusively so).
No, that would cause offence of course, we can't be picking on those minorities with "comics".
Edited on Jun 5, 2011 at 9:46amSep '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Allow me to suggest a gentle reply.
Jun '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
To be precise, it came out of oh-so-liberal San Francisco which the late, great Herb Caen used to refer to as Baghdad-by-the-Bay (he may have been onto something). Not sure if this would have played as well in Los Angeles, as laid back as it is. I would imagine that many in Jewish community down south would have been more vocal. I'm sure Dennis Prager will be all over this if he hasn't been already.
Perhaps we should expect that the San Francisco City Council will soon mandate that Jewish men be forced to wear Stars of David sewn into their clothing.
At least the Anti-Defamation League is on top of it.
Nov '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
The creepy gay brownshirts promoting this are impervious to irony, or even common sense. Nothing must be allowed to get in the way of their self-obsessed agenda, which has nothing to do with protecting children. And tolerance is not enough: You. Must. Approve.
May '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
This is downright bizarre and the anti-Semitic themes are creepy. It's the typical end-justifies-means attitude of the left at work here. That said, given the conversation I started in the member feed about circumcision yesterday, were it not for his Nazi connotations, I'd be thinking about changing my avitar from the ND flag to Foreskin Man.
(kidding)
Jul '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
In addition to his sidecurls and oddly oversized yarmulka, Jorah even carries an Uzi. It's like Hess looked at the concept art and was like, "Hmm, still not Jewish enough."
I'm sure they're really just anti-Zionist, erm, I mean anti-circumcision. It's hard to keep track of the Judenhass rationalizations without a scorecard.
Dec '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
I'm surprised to hear that there are still males procreating with females in San Francisco. I thought that sort of old fashioned thinking was frowned on in Baghdad By The Bay.
Dec '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
This is of a piece with the Sisters of Perpetual Mercy and the marches through St. Patrick's Cathedral during Mass and the "alternative Easter" (warning: full frontal naked "Jesus" photo). The larger target of the anti-circumcision campaign is all religion that refers back to the Old Testament laws and commandments. The God who said, "Thou shalt not lie with a man as with a woman: it is detestable to Me," must be destroyed and replaced with a God who says, "Hey, whatever."
Dec '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Note that the comic books don't say, "Let little Morrie decide for himself when he's 18." Instead, they say that the Brit Milah is an evil act perpetrated by a monster.
Straight-up Jew hatred.
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Who precisely are the people behind this measure? What is it about San Francisco that makes it seem plausible to people there?
Jun '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Where is Senator (and former San Francisco mayor) Diane Feinstein on all this? Her paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Poland. One would think this would be grossly offensive to her.
Maybe the US Holocaust Memorial Museum should park a mobile museum (in a trailer) outside of San Francisco City Hall and encourage members of the city council and board of supervisors to visit. I'd help pay for that.
Mar '11
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Once the law is passed, they'll probably take a page from the Obamacare book and grant waivers to Muslims.
Dec '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
1) The people behind this measure, the one in Santa Monica, and their proposed Federal bill are found at mgmbill.org. Enjoy!
2) What is it about San Francisco? What was it about San Francisco that led the gay community there to oppose HIV testing in the mid-1980s? The gay community in San Francisco feels persecuted. Organized religion based on the Old Testament seems to them to be dedicated to eliminating homosexuality and eradicating gay people. This measure is an opening to start dismantling Judaism piece by piece. The same sentiment applies to the Catholic Church, which has long been a specific target of the gay activist community.
May '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
I assure you, Judith, that if any group attempted a Kristallnacht in the South or Midwest, those people would be beaten within an inch of their lives. It's remarkable that liberal American Jews can't seem to recognize that the anti-religious crowd they associate with are precisely the people they need fear. The Nazis were not friendly to gays either.
Mar '11
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Stuart Creque: Note that the comic books don't say, "Let little Morrie decide for himself when he's 18." Instead, they say that the Brit Milah is an evil act perpetrated by a monster.
Straight-up Jew hatred.
We had a gentlemanly discussion on this issue a week or two ago, when I wasn't aware of what was behind the proposed ban. It does seem to be Jew hatred, as there is no mention of Muslims or the health and moral questions of infant choice that we discussed then.
Well, it is SFO - I'm not sure anything would surprise me, there.
Edited on Jun 5, 2011 at 10:59amJun '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Allow me to suggest a superhero of our own. So as not to run afoul of the code of conduct our superhero would be named Dick Tête. I know, not very all-American, but we have a code of conduct.
The way I see it, our comic book would have Dick Tête, emulating San Francisco’s only real sport by coming out of a closet. I don’t have a real grasp of the costuming yet, but I’m working on it. Dick may appear in a cape and tights, but he would definitely not have skin in the game. Being San Francisco, I think we might dress Dick as a mighty Trojan®, in an attempt to curry favour with City Council, but more importantly to capture marketing spin-offs.
Our villain would be Nasty Nancy, a dominatrix and former Speaker of the House of Representatives who prances about in leather chaps, stiletto heels, and stainless steel bra. The whip Nasty Nancy has tied to her utility belt would, of course, have magic properties. One lash could, for example, turn a tea partier into a Klansman.
Superhero that he is, Dick Tête would rise to every occasion.
Dec '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
Cas Balicki:
I don’t have a real grasp of the costuming yet, but I’m working on it. Dick may appear in a cape and tights, but he would definitely not have skin in the game. Being San Francisco, I think we might dress Dick as a mighty Trojan®, in an attempt to curry favour with City Council, but more importantly to capture marketing spin-offs.
I believe the traditional headgear is a modern Army helmet.
Dec '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
San Francisco is also home to QUIT! (Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism!). This is a group of gay activists who want the Middle East's only refuge of tolerance for gay people to knuckle under to its neighbors.
I would love to see them organize demonstrations in Tehran, Mecca, Riyadh or Gaza City and declare their solidarity as gay men and women with the oppressed people of Palestine.
Oct '10
Re: Californian Anti-Circumcision Activists Get Their Nazi On
That alternative Easter thing made me hope I never, ever live in San Francisco. What's sick is that all of these people are religious, they simply belong to secular religions. Given that secular religions (like Communism) murdered far more people than traditional religion ever could, their self-righteousness annoys me.