A growing controversy has erupted in the United Kingdom after a policy group within the Green Party, led by a Jewish politician, began examining a proposal that could ultimately lead the party to support a ban on non-medical bris milah—a move that would directly affect both Jewish and Muslim communities across Britain.

The Green Party’s Health Policy Working Group (HPWG), chaired by Zack Polanski, is reportedly considering recommendations that would restrict parents from authorizing irreversible surgical procedures on children unless they are deemed medically necessary. If adopted, the proposal could pave the way for the party to endorse prohibiting bris milah.

According to a report in The Spectator, the working group launched an internal consultation asking party members whether parents should be permitted to consent to “an irreversible surgical procedure on a child only when it is medically necessary.” Participants in the survey were specifically asked to share their views regarding bris milah.

The debate echoes a similar controversy that emerged in Iceland in 2018, when the country became the first in Europe to advance legislation banning non-medical bris milah. That proposal sparked fierce opposition from Jewish and Muslim leaders, who argued that such a measure would infringe on religious freedom. While the Icelandic initiative received broad political support, comparable proposals elsewhere in Europe have often been championed by nationalist parties, including Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Sweden’s Sweden Democrats.

The report states that the working group’s policy officer urged party members to participate in the consultation, writing that “this would be a huge help in ensuring that the Green Party has an up-to-date health policy from this autumn.” The party’s annual autumn conference is scheduled for September, when a number of controversial policy proposals are expected to be debated.

The British Jewish newspaper Jewish News warned that adopting such a policy could undermine the Green Party’s growing support among Muslim voters, a constituency in which the party has made gains in recent years. Observers also noted that the proposal could create political difficulties in areas with sizable Orthodox Jewish populations, including London’s Hackney borough, where the Greens have achieved notable electoral success.

A spokesperson for the Green Party stressed that the proposal is not currently official party policy. The spokesperson explained that the party’s working groups consist of members who independently develop and evaluate policy ideas, and that any proposal can become official party policy only if it is approved by delegates at a party conference vote.

For now, the consultation remains under review, but its mere consideration has already generated significant concern among religious communities and renewed a broader debate over religious liberty and parental rights in Britain.

{Matzav.com}