In November, San Francisco will be voting on a measure to outlaw circumcision for anyone under 18 years of age, with no religious exemptions. The fine for violating the law will be 1000 dollars and/or a year in jail. A similar measure is on the ballot in Santa Monica. When I heard about the ballot measure (it required several thousand signatures, gathered from people in San Francisco to make it onto the ballot) I wondered if it might be motivated and driven by Antisemitism. According to a blog on San Francisco Chronicle website (among others) some of the literature being circulated by major proponents of the legislation are explicitly Antisemitic. This is deeply disturbing and frightening. I hope that the ballot measure and its supporters will be denounced by politicians of all parties and in editorials everywhere. But I have my doubts. Antisemitism is preached from the mosques, taught in the schools, printed in the textbooks, and proclaimed in newspapers, magazines, television and radio throughout the Moslem world. Few politicians or western media mention it or condemn it.

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