Metzitzah B’eh and The Magic of Religion: How the category of religion transforms a criminal practice endangering Jewish male infants into legalized ritual.

This paper will argue that when a sovereign state recognizes a group as a religion, the laws and customs of the group acquire a special status. This status can enable the ‘religious’ group to escape prosecution for behaviour that would otherwise be deemed criminal. Metzitzah B’peh, or oral suction, provides a dramatic example. Efforts to forbid this act that has caused the death of some babies and inflicted brain damage on others, met with failure in New York City. Orthodox Jewish communities effectively argued that former Mayor Bloomberg, who wanted the practice banned, had to respect religious freedom even though oral suction can be considered a form of high-risk sexual assault on male infants by adult men. Presently, the practice continues with no required restrictions beyond tepid warnings to Jewish parents. This paper examines how such a practice is legitimated by local authorities.