Poll: 97 percent won't pass on brit
Circumcision continues to win national consensus, though 78 percent say they only uphold tradition for religious reasons. 69 percent prefer mohel to doctor
You can find pita-bread easily enough during Passover, the Sabbath is the national day of shopping and civil marriage in Cyprus has long since become a trend. But without any legislation or coercion, circumcision remains one of the lone Jewish rites that remain in the heart of the national consensus.
In a recent Ynet-Gesher poll conducted amongst 550 adult Jewish Israelis a unanimous 97 percent said they would circumcise their sons. 78 percent cited religious tradition as their reason for the act and 69 percent said they would prefer to have a trained mohel to a medical doctor.
When asked "what is the primary reason you would circumcise your son?" 78 percent replied that it is a basic and necessary tradition for every Jew. 13 percent cited health reasons and 9 percent said they didn't want their child to be ashamed or feel different because all those around him were circumcised.
Among respondents who identified themselves as secular 63 percent said that tradition was the main reason, while 20 percent said health and 17 percent said they didn't want the child to be different. Among religious respondents 86 percent said tradition, 10 percent said health and only 4 percent said they didn't
want the child to be different. Among strictly-Orthodox respondents 100 percent said tradition was the deciding factor for them.
And who do Israelis trust with performing such a sensitive task? 69 percent of the public said it prefers a trained and experienced mohel compared to the 28 percent who would entrust the matter to a medical doctor.
