Right-Wing Jewish Detainee Not Allowed to Attend Son's Circumcision

Jerusalem, 3 April, 2016 (TPS) -- The request by Meir Ettinger, a Jewish right-wing activist held in administrative detention, to attend his newborn son’s circumcision ceremony was denied on Sunday, April 3. The judge set an appeal hearing for the following morning, which is also when the ceremony is scheduled to take place.

Following the ruling, Ettinger’s wife, Moriah, vowed not to hold the ceremony in the prison where the boy’s father is being held.

“Sadly, the authorities want to be like the Greeks and the Communists by not letting a Jewish father bring his son into Abraham’s covenant,” Moriah Ettinger said, using the religious term for the ritual circumcision and referring to historical persecutions of Jewish observance.

“This is not just our personal issue but it is a struggle for Jewish identity and it is about distinguishing between friend and foe and between Jew and Gentile,” she added. “We’ll conduct the circumcision proudly and with joy and not in the prison like they want.”

Meanwhile, tens of protesters gathered in Jerusalem to demand that Ettinger be released.

Chief Rabbi David Lau has interceded on Ettinger’s behalf, requesting that the prison warden “take every step to find a way to allow Mr. Ettinger to attend his son’s circumcision while of course observing security demands and all relevant regulations.”  

Meir Ettinger, a grandson of the assassinated Rabbi Meir Kahane, has been held in administrative detention since last August in the General Security Service sweep following the arson attack that killed several members of the Dawabshe family.

Ettinger has been described as an ideological architect of the “the revolt,” a loosely organized youth movement that aims to replace the current government with an “Israelite monarchy,” and has often been accused of violence against Palestinians.

Ettinger has not been charged with committing a crime, but remains under arrest by order of Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon for allegedly posing an active threat to public safety.