A British rabbi who regularly circumcises male infants in accordance with Jewish religious custom was arrested in Ireland for illegally performing the surgical procedure without a license.

Jonathan Abraham, who is based in London, was arrested in Dublin on July 30 for carrying out the operation without being officially registered as a medical practitioner. The rabbi was charged with violating Ireland's 2007 Medical Practitioners Act and could face up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $140,000.

Abraham was refused bail by Judge Michael Connellan at Dublin District Court after the lead detective in the case accused him of being a potential flight risk, due to the alleged seriousness of the matter. The defendant was granted legal aid and remanded into custody pending instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Detective Garda Megan Furey, of the Garda Síochána, the Irish national police force, told the judge that officers saw the rabbi enter a residence at Dublin 15 with permission from the inhabitants.

Abraham was arrested "dressed in a white robe, a doctor's-style coat, with blue gloves and a scalpel in his hand.” He was found in the apartment, at a table with a changing pad, scissors, and other medical supplies and instruments. "Gardaí at this time also observed a very young child on the changing pad naked," said the detective, who noted that another circumcision had earlier taken place.

The detective told the court that Abraham "made no reply" when he was charged at the station in Blanchardstown and that a case against him was being prepared for the DPP. She added that "it's envisaged that there will be multiple further charges in due course."

Furey reported that the rabbi flew into Ireland on the day of his arrest at noon and already had a return flight booked that evening, making him a "significant flight risk." The detective claimed that Abraham had enough assets to flee Irish authorities, along with a good incentive to flee abroad, as he did not have any personal ties, property, assets, or dependents in the country.

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In an attempt to plead bail for his client, Abraham's attorney, Tertius Van Eeden, said that the rabbi was a member of the UK's Initiation Society, England's oldest Jewish organization, which regulates the practices of the Jewish faith, such as circumcisions. Van Eeden complained that his client could spend a lengthy period in custody and his trial venue had yet to be confirmed. 

He said that the denial of bail would cause hardship for his client, a father of ten with no prior convictions and his family's primary breadwinner. Van Eeden also told the court that the defendant's wife worked part-time tutoring children with learning disabilities, and that the household was dependent on welfare.

The defense attorney claimed that his client had the proper medical training and was fully insured to perform circumcisions as a mohel, the only person in the Jewish community who is allowed to carry out the procedure. He said that as a registered mohel, the rabbi had been legally able to perform circumcisions in the UK for more than 13 years, and if he did what he stood accused of doing in England, his actions would have been completely legal. 

However, the judge reminded the defense that England was a separate jurisdiction and that those laws did not apply to Ireland.

During cross-examination by Van Eeden, Furey said that she was aware that Abraham was a mohel, but that official enquiries were still ongoing. When asked if she had done any proper research about his role in the Jewish community, the detective admitted that she only found out what a mohel was a day after the arrest.

After further testimony, the detective admitted that Abraham never claimed to be a doctor and she believed his claim that he was a rabbi. When the defense attorney pressed her, Furey agreed that, if prosecutors recommended that the case stay in District Court, the potential penalties would be considerably lower, with a maximum of six months imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,400. Van Eeden accused the detective of leaving that out during her bail objections and said his client would accept paying a $5,400 fine and agree not to perform circumcisions in Ireland again.

Abraham has yet to enter a plea and will appear again at Cloverhill District Court on August 6.