Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Rule Change Could Give Rabbis More Leeway To Spread Herpes Via Snip-N-Suck Circumcision
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 25, 2015
Modified Feb 25, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
AP
View all 6
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 25, 2015
Modified Feb 25, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Mayor Bill de Blasio is moving to repeal a Bloomberg-era health code requiring mohels to obtain written consent from parents before they perform a controversial circumcision ritual that has given infants herpes.
Anonymous city health officials announced the news during a conference call with reporters last night; under the new agreement, mohels suspected of infecting a baby with herpes will be DNA-tested, and if a mohel's herpes virus matches the infant's strain of herpes he will be banned from performing circumcisions for life. The baby will also have herpes for life, and possibly brain damage.
Officials believe that since the year 2000 over a dozen infants have been infected with neonatal herpes in NYC from the ritual, known as metzitzah b’peh [MBP], in which the rabbi uses his mouth to suck blood from the boy's freshly snipped foreskin. Two children are believed to have died after contracting herpes from MBP.
In 2012, the Health Department voted to approve a regulation requiring mohels to obtain a signed consent form from parents before performing a MBP circumcision. But the regulation was not enforced, and health officials tell the NY Post they received only one consent form from a mohel since the policy began. A group of rabbis also filed a federal lawsuit against the city over the consent form requirement.
As part of the new arrangement—which is not yet finalized—health care providers in the ultra-Orthodox community will distribute information about the risks of MBP. But while ultra-Orthodox leaders have agreed to participate in the DNA testing, the current agreement would allow a mohel to continue performing MBP if he tests positive for herpes that is a different strain from the one infecting the child in question.
The de Blasio administration also says it's unlikely that it will make public the names of mohels found to test positive for herpes. But The Forward reports that administration officials are "unsure whether the board of health would grant the city’s request to rescind the consent form regulation." Not that the regulation is actually changing anything anyway. From The Forward:
From the outset, the city never planned much in the way of enforcing the law. Mohels were instructed to keep signed copies of consent forms for one year. But the health department never conducted spot checks to see if mohels were complying with the rule. Instead, they only asked for copies of the forms if a parent complained, or if there was an investigation into a suspected cases of MBP-related herpes.
In the two years since the regulation was brought into force and despite five confirmed cases of neonatal herpes following MBP during that time, the city has only identified two mohels, only one of whom had a consent form.
In the other cases, ultra-Orthodox parents refused to identify the mohel who circumcised their son. The two mohels who were identified were banned from performing MBP. But the city will not release their names so parents have no way of knowing which mohels to avoid.
De Blasio criticized the consent forms while campaigning for mayor, and promised to change the rules if elected. Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox community traditionally votes as a bloc, and one blogger who closely follows the Satmar sect believes de Blasio's MBP campaign promise won him 10,000 votes.
In a statement, the de Blasio administration said, "While the de Blasio administration continues to believe that MBP carries with it health risks, given the sacred nature of this ritual to the community, the administration is pursuing a policy centered around education of health risks by the health care community and respect for traditional practices by the religious community."
Reacting to last night's announcement, blogger Failed Messiah wrote:
The easiest way for haredim to scam this agreement is to send in a mohel who did not do the circumcision of the baby found to be infected. By switching out one mohel for another, haredim insure that even if the ringer mohel is found to be infected with Herpes, nothing will happen. He'll still be able to do circumcisions and the actual mohel who gave the baby herpes will, too.
But the HSV-1 virus is so hard to gather and so hard to test that one of the most common test-related failures is a false negative, meaning actual herpes carriers who infect babies have a very good chance of having their DNA test not match the baby's virus sample.
And that means no matter how haredim play this game, they win.
Tagged
circumcision
de Blasio
herpes
sip n suck
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC Council to consider earlier Legionella reporting after deadly outbreaks
A bill facing a hearing Monday would require cooling tower owners to notify city health officials when bacteria levels reach a much lower threshold.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 18, 2026 at 7:36 p.m. ET
Staten Island fire injures 2, but spares historic 'Godfather' church
Dozens of firefighters responded to the blaze, which started in a vacant warehouse. It was contained within three hours.
By
Giulia Heyward
News
Staten Island fire injures 2, but spares historic 'Godfather' church
Dozens of firefighters responded to the blaze, which started in a vacant warehouse. It was contained within three hours.
By
Giulia Heyward
Bail reform remains major issue in NY governor's race, 7 years after it became law
By
Gino Fanelli
NYPD identifies Bronx man, 26, killed in Midtown subway shooting
By
Ryan Kost
,
Elizabeth Kim
and
Phil Corso
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .