Dear friends,
The book "Milah – Second Thought on Circumcision" written by Rani Kasher is about to be translated into English.
Mr. Kasher is an Israeli activist in the area of children rights, and is a co-founder of the community "Beofen-TV" [="The Natural Way"] which has thousands of members. It has an active forum (www.beofen-tv.co.il) that is dedicated to disseminating information about child-rearing practices (such as breastfeeding), education (such as homeschooling), healthy nutrition, sustainable living and so on.
Mr. Kasher lectures extensively about these subjects all over Israel.
Trying to raise awareness to the practice of circumcision is not easy. This is a loaded subject. A recent article in the English edition of the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz brought many heated comments, some of them outright abusive [see here the Hebrew version]. Mr. Kasher is also very active in Facebook on this subject.
In the US, Jews and Muslims practice it for religious reasons. Others do it because it is allegedly healthier, or just because "everybody does it". Views against circumcision are rarely heard.
In Europe, on the other hand, the subject of circumcision is a hot potato. Countries such as Germany and Denmark are trying to pass laws forbidding child circumcision. Only adults could go through the procedure. The rationale is that because babies are incapable of making such a decision, the decision on such an important, irreversible matter is made for them by others - their parents. Advocates of this law see it as a human-rights issue. As expected, the Jewish and Muslim communities in these countries launched a vociferous opposition, citing underlying reasons of Anti-Semitism.
In Israel, the number of parents who choose to leave their children natural, i.e. Uncircumcised, is growing. Mr. Kasher, the most prominent advocate of "natural" children (three of his own are), has been interviewed numerous times on TV, on the radio, and in the newspapers. The book "Milah" which came out at the beginning of 2017, added to the intensity of the discussion.
The book "Milah" with its 580 pages, is probably the most authoritative overview of circumcision. It examines the pro and cons of this practice, as well as its historical, biblical and Jewish matters, moral, socials, health and many more aspects. Its aim is to help parents to make a knowledgeable decision — to call a mohel/doctor to operate on their 8-days old baby, or to leave it "natural". The English version of the book will do the same for the non-Hebrew speaking population of the world. Mr. Kasher therefore believes that it is of utmost importance to have the book translated and published in English.
This is a rather costly endeavor. It is estimated that it will cost an upward of $40,000. This is the reason that this letter was sent to you.
If you think that raising awareness of the practice of circumcision is important, and that reliable information needs to be disseminated, we encourage you to help. You can do it in several ways:
(1) purchase the Hebrew version of the book (the full version for $30; the abridged version for $15; the digital version for $8) on www.britmila.info [at bookstore].
(2) make a donation of any amount https://english-milah.weebly.com.
(3) join the crowdfunding project "Translation Milah – 2nd thought on Circumcision", that will start at 1/1/2018 in "HEADSTART"
The money raised will enable the translation and the publication of the book. Any funds left will finance further activities such as lectures, discussion groups, etc.
We count on you to help make this important project a reality.
Thanks!
The book "Milah – Second Thought on Circumcision" written by Rani Kasher is about to be translated into English.
Mr. Kasher is an Israeli activist in the area of children rights, and is a co-founder of the community "Beofen-TV" [="The Natural Way"] which has thousands of members. It has an active forum (www.beofen-tv.co.il) that is dedicated to disseminating information about child-rearing practices (such as breastfeeding), education (such as homeschooling), healthy nutrition, sustainable living and so on.
Mr. Kasher lectures extensively about these subjects all over Israel.
Trying to raise awareness to the practice of circumcision is not easy. This is a loaded subject. A recent article in the English edition of the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz brought many heated comments, some of them outright abusive [see here the Hebrew version]. Mr. Kasher is also very active in Facebook on this subject.
In the US, Jews and Muslims practice it for religious reasons. Others do it because it is allegedly healthier, or just because "everybody does it". Views against circumcision are rarely heard.
In Europe, on the other hand, the subject of circumcision is a hot potato. Countries such as Germany and Denmark are trying to pass laws forbidding child circumcision. Only adults could go through the procedure. The rationale is that because babies are incapable of making such a decision, the decision on such an important, irreversible matter is made for them by others - their parents. Advocates of this law see it as a human-rights issue. As expected, the Jewish and Muslim communities in these countries launched a vociferous opposition, citing underlying reasons of Anti-Semitism.
In Israel, the number of parents who choose to leave their children natural, i.e. Uncircumcised, is growing. Mr. Kasher, the most prominent advocate of "natural" children (three of his own are), has been interviewed numerous times on TV, on the radio, and in the newspapers. The book "Milah" which came out at the beginning of 2017, added to the intensity of the discussion.
The book "Milah" with its 580 pages, is probably the most authoritative overview of circumcision. It examines the pro and cons of this practice, as well as its historical, biblical and Jewish matters, moral, socials, health and many more aspects. Its aim is to help parents to make a knowledgeable decision — to call a mohel/doctor to operate on their 8-days old baby, or to leave it "natural". The English version of the book will do the same for the non-Hebrew speaking population of the world. Mr. Kasher therefore believes that it is of utmost importance to have the book translated and published in English.
This is a rather costly endeavor. It is estimated that it will cost an upward of $40,000. This is the reason that this letter was sent to you.
If you think that raising awareness of the practice of circumcision is important, and that reliable information needs to be disseminated, we encourage you to help. You can do it in several ways:
(1) purchase the Hebrew version of the book (the full version for $30; the abridged version for $15; the digital version for $8) on www.britmila.info [at bookstore].
(2) make a donation of any amount https://english-milah.weebly.com.
(3) join the crowdfunding project "Translation Milah – 2nd thought on Circumcision", that will start at 1/1/2018 in "HEADSTART"
The money raised will enable the translation and the publication of the book. Any funds left will finance further activities such as lectures, discussion groups, etc.
We count on you to help make this important project a reality.
Thanks!