Israel’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement calling on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to immediately rescind its recently adopted resolution against circumcision.

On Tuesday the European Council rendered circumcision of children a violation of human rights, and called for legal ban until the child is of age 15.

In response, Israel defended the ancient religious tradition in a statement which said:

“Circumcision of male children is an ancient religious tradition of two important religions, Judaism and Islam, and is also common among some Christian circles. Any comparison of this tradition to the reprehensible and barbaric practice of female genital mutilation is either appalling ignorance, at best, or defamation and anti- religious hatred, at worst.”

The statement continued by debasing the claims that circumcision harms young boys’ health and body. “These claims are false and do not rest on any scientific evidence.”

As an example, the rebuke cited an official publication by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which shows the health benefits of newborn male circumcision.

“The resolution of the PACE constitutes, therefore, an intolerable attack both on the respectable and ancient religious tradition that lies at the base of European culture, and on modern medical science and its findings.”

At the end of the statement, Israel demanded that the Council of Europe annul the resolution without delay since it casts anti-Semitism against Jews in European countries. 

“This resolution casts a moral stain on the Council of Europe, and fosters hate and racist trends in Europe,” the statement read. 

Dr. Eli J. Schussheim of the Chief Rabbinate and Israel’s Ministry of Health also said the resolution flew in the face ancient Jewish tradition dating back four thousand years. “Circumcision is the essence of the Jewish people, and an attack on circumcision is an attack against the Jewish people,” he said.