Baby Who Died After Circumcision Will Not Be Autopsied

An eight-day-old baby from the community of Neve Erza died after undergoing a circumcision and was brought to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition during resuscitation efforts. Doctors there were forced to declare him dead.

After his death, the body was transferred to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine to determine the circumstances of the death. ZAKA officials, including Jerusalem district commander Rabbi Bentzi Oiring and Samaria and Judea district commander Gil Bismut, together with the organization’s legal department, worked with the relevant authorities to avoid a full autopsy.

The decision was later made to rely on a CT scan and additional examinations needed to clarify what happened, rather than perform a postmortem dissection. The baby’s body was released for burial shortly afterward.

Micha Guttoin, coordinator of ZAKA’s legal department, said: “Even in sensitive and complex cases of this kind, we act as much as possible to complete the needs of the examination and investigation through alternative means, while preserving the dignity of the dead and showing the utmost sensitivity toward the family.”