Here in England the Mohelim are trained and registered with the Initiation Society. Any medical procedure has an element of risk, but with a proper Mohel the risk is minimal. Problems arise if unlicensed people perform circumcision. The case in Germany, however, involved a medical doctor, not a mohel.

If health reaaons were a concern they'd encourage people to get circumcised since it has been proven to reduce HIV, HPV, penile cancer, urinary tract infections, phimosis etc. The motivation behind a ban is purely xenophobic.

The ban has to do with protecting the rights of the child who cannot give his consent. It's as simple as that. Circumcision is surgery on a healthy individual, not something which should be taken lightly. No one questions elective circumcision by a male old enough to decide for himself. BTW, antibiotics work fine against UTIs, less drastic than the removal of a body part for prevention - and let's face it, most males never get UTIs. making the op unnecessary for the great majority. Even though circumcision has been proven to reduce HIV in Africa, the circumstances are different, with most AIDS spread heterosexually. Cemetaries all over the US are filled with circumcised AIDS victims (born in the 1950s and 1960s when routine circumcision was the norm), so it is not a magic bullet.