‘Joining wave against Jewish traditions’: Rabbi protests YouTube’s circumcision video ban

Rabbi Benjamin Holtzman of Kibbutz Ma’ale Gilboa recently celebrated his first grandson Lavi’s circumcision ceremony with family and friends. However, the joyous event was somewhat overshadowed by an incident that occurred afterward online, causing Holtzman to reflect sadly on how countries, leaders, and organizations throughout history have treated one of the most important Jewish traditions. According to Holtzman, one of the attendees recorded the ceremony on their phone and uploaded it to YouTube to share with family members. However, access to the video was blocked. “What bothered me most was the message on the website explaining the reason for blocking it,” Holtzman said. “It states that ‘content that endangers the emotional or physical health of minors cannot be published on YouTube’ – this reminded me of reasoning and excuses used throughout history to try to abolish Jewish customs – particularly the circumcision ceremony.” Holtzman added that the person who uploaded the video appealed to YouTube about the block, but received a generic response, and the appeal was rejected. Jewish circumcision (Photo: Rafael Ben Ari/Chameleons Eye) Rafael Ben Ari/Chameleons Eye Holtzman published a post on another social network (Facebook) describing the video block and added, “Even the Greeks and Romans banned
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