Norway’s conservative Progress Party created a fuss last weekend, when it decided at its national meeting to make a ban on circumcision of baby boys part of its party platform. Now party officials say they won’t make any moves to propose a ban as law.
After days of criticism from religious groups and not least the state of Israel, Justice Minister Per-Willy Amundsen of the Progress Party declared in Parliament that he won’t be following up the ban that was promoted by a majority of his party fellows. He said he “has no intention to make any moves in regards to the party’s measure.”
Progress Party leader Siv Jensen made it clear she personally does not support a ban on circumcision, which is a religious ritual among many adherents to the Muslim and Jewish religions. She stressed that her party has been one of Israel’s strongest supporters in Norway.
Both she, Amundsen and other party officials, though, have had to fend off strong criticism that the measure was an attack on both Muslim and Jewish minorities in Norway. Kjell Ingolf Ropstad of the Christian Democrats accused the Progress Party of “forcing Jews to move out of Norway.”
newsinenglish.no staff
