By www.capitalnewyork.com/users/dana-rubinstein 10:31 am Jun. 5, 20131Add a commentAs of today, an ultra-Orthodox Jewishtradition in which mohels suck blood from the open wound of a freshlycircumcised penis is not illegal in New York City.Butper a compromise reached by the Bloomberg administration, the cityrequires parents having their children circumcised in that manner tosign a www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/std/consent-form-sample.p they understand “direct oral suction should not be performed because itexposes an infant to the risk of transmission of herpes simplex virusinfection, which may result in brain damage or death.”The practice is believed to have resulted in the infection of www.cnn.com/2013/04/07/health/new-york-neonatal-herpes with herpes since 2000. At least two of them www.cnn.com/2013/04/07/health/new-york-neonatal-herpes have suffered brain damage.City health commissioner Thomas Farley advises that the practice, known as metzitzah b’peh, “ www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/std/bris-statement.pdf .”At two recent mayoral forums, nearly all of the candidates who want to be mayor politicker.com/2013/04/democratic-mayoral-hopeful-headlines- even the Bloomberg administration's requirement of a consent form is a step too far.Lastnight, at a forum hosted by the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition andthe Council of Jewish Organizations of Flatbush, former comptrollerBill Thompson https://twitter.com/powellnyt/status/342088694167109632 that he wants to sit down and talk more about the issue, according to New York Times columnist Michael Powell.Former congressman Anthony Weiner said that protesting the practice amounted to “ https://twitter.com/powellnyt/status/342089608496021504 ,” and comptroller John Liu said that he would “ https://twitter.com/powellnyt/status/342090138656047105 .”Only Council Speaker Christine Quinn, per Powell, said it made sense to have https://twitter.com/powellnyt/status/342090614353035264 in place.A very similar scenario played out last week at a forum hosted by the Jewish Press,when public advocate Bill de Blasio faulted Bloomberg for trying to“impose his will," called vaguely for "real dialogue," urged “respectfor religious tradition,” and called for a "new policy that's fair."( www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4MCHSZ5eH4& ;amp;feature=youtu.be.)Liu said he’d scrap the consent form altogether."Thisis something that's been going on for thosuands of years, thousands ofyears, and it's continued to this day until for some reason, aparticular billionaire mayor in this city decided that he must knowbetter than anybody else," he said.Quinn faulted the city for not listening to the rabbis, even though it was a www.nytimes.com/2005/08/26/nyregion/26circumcise.html from which that compromise position (the consent form) emerged.But she also said, "I would not change the consent form, I would leave it in place moving forward."The Conference of European Rabbis and the Central Council of Jews in Germany www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/israel-s-chie instead.RabbiMoshe Tendler, a professor of biology at Yeshiva University, says thatnot only is there no religious requirement for metzitzah b’peh—"It waslargely brought to America by Hungarian immigration after theHolocaust—but “you will not find a single respected pediatrician whowill defend that oral practice.”According to Tendler, the mayoral candidates’ stance on the issue is all about the politics.“They’re fighting for several thousand, maybe tens of thousands of votes in the Wiilliamsburg area alone,” he said.But what of that religious freedom argument?“Are they going to support also female circumcision on that basis?” he asked.