A London-based rabbi accused of traveling to Ireland to conduct an illegal circumcision on a young child has been denied bail.
Jonathan Abraham, 47, was detained in Dublin on Tuesday and is charged with performing a circumcision on a child without being a registered medical practitioner, at an address in Dublin 15.
The father of ten appeared before Judge Michael Connellan at Dublin District Court on Thursday.
Detective Garda Megan Furey testified that Mr. Abraham “made no reply” when charged at Blanchardstown Garda station.
Bail was opposed due to the seriousness of the charges.
The detective explained that the offence, under the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, could lead to a maximum fine of €130,000 and five years in prison.
Detective Garda Furey stated there was substantial evidence supporting the charge. Gardaí entered the Dublin 15 address shortly after 1 pm on Tuesday with the homeowners’ permission.
The detective reported that they found the accused “dressed in a white robe, a doctor’s-style coat, with blue gloves and a scalpel in his hand.”
The court heard that the room had a table with a changing pad, scissors, and other medical supplies.
“Gardaí also saw a very young child on the changing pad, naked,” she said, adding that they discovered a circumcision had already been performed on another child at the location.
The detective told the court that a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and “it is expected that multiple further charges will follow.”
Expressing concerns about a “significant flight risk,” she noted that the accused flew into Ireland on July 30th around noon and had a return flight booked for that evening. She added that he had no ties to the jurisdiction, no property, assets, or dependents in the country.
She described him as a man of means with a strong incentive to flee and avoid prosecution.
During cross-examination by defense solicitor Tertius Van Eeden, she agreed that if the DPP decided the case should remain in the District Court, the penalties would be much lower: a maximum of six months imprisonment and a fine of up to €5,000.
He suggested that she had omitted this information during her bail objections and was overly eager in assuming the case would go to a higher court, but she did not accept this.
Later, the detective acknowledged that the accused had not claimed to be a doctor and accepted that he was a rabbi.
The garda detective stated he had not provided any information about his training and used the name Rabbi Y. Abraham. The solicitor clarified that Y stood for Yoni, Hebrew for Jonathan.
The solicitor said his client was a member of the Initiation Society, which oversees Jewish circumcisions.
Mr. Van Eeden added that his client, who did not speak in court, was registered as a Mohel, the Hebrew term for someone qualified to perform circumcisions.
The detective admitted being informed of this and said inquiries were still ongoing.
When asked if she had researched this on Google, she said she only learned this around 8 pm on Wednesday.
Pleading for bail, Mr. Van Eeden highlighted that the Initiation Society was the oldest Anglo-Jewish organization, founded in 1745. As a Mohel, he had been performing circumcisions for over 13 years and was fully trained to do so medically and ethically.
The solicitor argued that within the Jewish community, only a Mohel could perform such procedures, and he was insured to do so.
Mr. Van Eeden claimed that if his client had performed the same procedures in England, they would have been completely legal.
However, the judge noted that this was a different jurisdiction.
The solicitor emphasized that these were merely allegations and his client had no prior convictions and was presumed innocent.
The court heard that Mr. Abraham was the primary breadwinner for his family and also received state benefits while his wife worked part-time tutoring children with learning difficulties.
The solicitor mentioned that his client could face a lengthy period in custody, with the trial venue not yet confirmed.
He offered a €5,000 independent surety and assured that Mr. Abraham would comply with conditions not to perform such procedures in Ireland.
Judge Connellan denied bail due to the seriousness of the case, the flight risk, and the strong evidence. Legal aid was granted to the accused, who was remanded in custody awaiting directions from the DPP. Mr. Abraham has yet to enter a plea and will appear again on August 6th at Cloverhill District Court.
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