Eight babies were infected with herpes because of a traditional practice in which mohels suck blood from the infant’s circumcised penis. According to a report in the journal Pediatrics, the process known as metzizah, in which the mohel takes wine in his mouth, applies his lips to the wound on the penis then sucks blood into his mouth to stop the bleeding, has led to the herpes cases in Israel and Canada during the past few years.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
