On Circumcision, the Saint, and other animals

I remember this article by Hitchens, in which he writes sneeringly about the Jewish custom of circumcision with all the confidence of someone who knows and understands all (like the Spanish Inquisition, there is no doubt in his mind about his own righteousness and the stupid perfidious aim at which it is directed):

In more recent times, some pseudosecular arguments have been adduced for male circumcision. It has been argued that the process is more hygienic for the male and thus more healthy for females in helping them avoid, for example, cervical cancer. Medicine has exploded these claims or else revealed them as problems which can just as easily be solved by a “loosening” of the foreskin. Full excision, originally ordered by god as the blood price for the promised future massacre of the Canaanites, is now exposed for what it is — a mutilation of a powerless infant with the aim of ruining its future sex life.

For my sins, I took his information about the savage gratuitousness of the custom at face value. I was misled by his robust tone to think that he was really knowledgeable about how medical research had debunked the myth of hygiene and better health associated with circumcision.

And now I read this:

Sir Roger Moore, the British-born star of seven James Bond films, will donate the fee he earns from appearing at the fourth International Eilat Chamber Music Festival to a UNICEF program where Israeli expertise is used in training doctors to perform male circumcision as a way of reducing AIDS transmission in Africa.

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Since 1991, Moore has been a UNICEF "goodwill ambassador" promoting women's and children's health. He was inspired to work for UNICEF by the late actress Audrey Hepburn, herself a "goodwill ambassador," after being deeply moved by India's poverty while filming a movie there.

In a phone interview with The Jerusalem Post, Moore said he had a growing interest in the importance of health and disease prevention, and said his visit was meant to promote HIV awareness and education.

"Prevention is the best cure of disease," he added.

He disclosed that he himself had been circumcised at the initiative of his parents when he was eight.

"It was the unkindest cut of all," he joked. "But really, it was for hygienic reasons. My two sons [now 42 and 35] have been circumcised as well. They have never complained."

In the spring of 2007, the World Health Organization, UNAIDS and UNICEF recognized "compelling evidence" that adult male circumcision was an "additional important intervention" that could reduce the risk of HIV transmission. [-]

Together with experts from UN organizations, they say that male circumcision should always be considered part of a comprehensive HIV prevention package that includes HIV testing and counselling services, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, the promotion of safer sex practices, and the provision of condoms and diaphragms, with instruction as to their correct and consistent use.

I've always had a soft spot for Roger Moore. He didn't make such a memorable James Bond, but he was a great Saint.

Tangentially relevant:
In this video, Max Blumenthal is seen, trying to shame hapless New York Jews who rally for Israel, into admitting that Jewish circumcision is no different than female genitalia mutilation in Arab-Muslim societies.

In this video, stand-up comedian and journalist Aaron Freeman, an Chicago African-American who converted to Judaism, is regaling his audience with horror stories from his conversion process, including circumcision, at Betzavata theatre in Tel Aviv.

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Update: Mark Lyndon, in the comments, promotes a different position. He has a webpage, here, Physicians for Genital Integrity, devoted to activism against circumcision. And it seems they are mainly focused on male circumcision:
"We believe that male children are entitled to the same, equal protection as females receive under international law, U.S. national law, and the laws of other nations."