Israel's Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu carries an eigh-day-old baby during a circumcision ceremony in front of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in Jerusalem on January 10, 2004.
At the request of her estranged husband, an Israeli woman has been ordered to pay a penalty of $140 a day for refusing to circumcise their son.
The Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem rejected her appeal on Monday, claiming that the woman’s refusal was a scheme to revive her marriage, the Times of Israel reports.
“I have no right to cut his organ and mutilate him, and the court has no right to force me to do so,” the unidentified woman said. She also vowed not to pay the fine, which has reached $700. “I don’t have the means, I’m not working.”
The court stated that the refusal could set a dangerous precedent for Israeli mothers that could threaten the custom of circumcision.