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Stopped At The Border

Mohel/doctor refused entry into Canada to perform a bris.

N

between Abraham and God.”
Singer says he had talked with the family
about plans for the bris several months ago
as well as a few days prior to the brit milah.
While detained at the border, poor cel-
lular service prevented him from calling the
family. When he asked to make the call or
have the officer call the family, the officer
refused.
At press time, the JN was unable to make
contact with the family to see how the issue
was resolved.
In the 15 years Singer has been a mohel,
he has made many one-day trips to Windsor
to perform circumcisions. Mohalim such
as father-and-son rabbis Avraham and Ezra
Cohen of Southfield for decades have also
crossed the border to perform the ritual for
nearly 40 years with little incident.

ext time a Detroit-area mohel is
called upon by the Jewish com-
munity in Windsor, Ontario, to
conduct a ritual circumcision, he may want
to consider attaining a work permit from the
Canadian Department of Immigration. Or,
hire a good international labor lawyer.
Without the right credentials, he might
get turned around at the border.
That was what Dr. Craig Singer of
Bloomfield Hills, a board-
certified dermatologist,
pediatrician and mohel,
encountered at the
Windsor Tunnel crossing
on Thursday, May 19, as
he traveled to perform a
circumcision for a family
BORDER SERVICE RESPONSE
Dr. Craig Singer in Windsor.
A general statement released by the
Unfortunately, once he
stated his purpose for vis- Southern Ontario Region of the Canada
Border Services Agency (CBSA) about the
iting Canada, he was further questioned by
immigration officials who denied him entry incident read:
“Every person seeking entry into Canada
into the country because he did not present
must demonstrate that they meet the
any work permit or Canadian credentials to
requirements to enter the country.
perform a circumcision in Canada.
“Admissibility of all travelers seeking to
While there have been the occasional
enter Canada is considered on a case-by-
delays, clergy on both sides of the border
case basis, and based on the specific facts
— and as far away as Vancouver, British
Columbia — agree this is the first time they presented by the applicant in each case at
the time of entry.
can recall that an American mohel was
“The onus is on the traveler to understand
denied entry into Canada.
and meet the entry requirements.
Canadian immigration officials told
“A temporary foreign worker seeking
Singer, who received his mohel certification
through Hebrew Union College, that the cir- entry to Canada may require a work permit.”
The CBSA also pointed to its online
cumcision was medically surgical in nature
guidelines for Refugees and Citizenship/
and if he ever attempted to perform a bris
in Canada again, he would be “reprimanded Canada Temporary Foreign Workers. There,
in a paragraph especially deemed for tempo-
and possibly prosecuted.”
A central rite of identity for Jewish males, rary clergy (R186), the regulations state that
a foreigner is permitted to work in Canada
the ritual circumcision, barring any seri-
without a work permit as clergy defined as
ous health concerns, occurs on a baby boy’s
a person who is “responsible for assisting a
eighth day of life and takes precedence over
congregation or group in the achievement
any other holiday or occasion in a Jewish
of its spiritual goals and whose main duties
community, including a funeral, Shabbat or
are to preach doctrine, perform functions
Yom Kippur.
related to gatherings of the congre-
“Windsor does not have a mohel
gation or group or provide spiritual
and, therefore, we rely on our near-
counseling.”
est town over the river — Detroit
Still, the CBSA did not offer a
— to bring in a mohel to conduct
clear explanation as to why Singer
a brit milah,” said Rabbi Sholom
was turned away, nor did they
Galperin, head of Windsor Chabad
explain why the immigration officer
for seven years. “Having access to
would threaten to prosecute Singer
a mohel is essential for any Jewish
if he returned to Canada to perform
community to be able to bring a
baby Jewish boy on the eighth day Rabbi Sholom a bris.
Galperin
“The immigration officer asked
of his life into the covenant made

18 June 9 • 2016

Photo illustration

Stacy Gittleman | Contributing Writer

Immigration officers on the Canadian side of the Windsor Tunnel stopped Dr. Craig Singer
from entering the country to perform a bris for a Windsor family.

me if I knew of any Canadian legislation
that would permit me to enter the country
to perform this ‘surgery,”” Singer said. “I
explained this is not surgery, but rather a
religious rite, and I told him there are reli-
gious freedom laws protecting and enabling
Canadian citizens to fulfill their religious
beliefs.”
While still widely practiced in Canada,
views on circumcision — ritual or medical
— seem to be shifting out of favor.
In 2015, the Canadian Pediatric Society
released a statement reaffirming its recom-
mendation against the routine circumcision
of newborn males but also maintained that
families need to make the best decision for
their children based on family, religious and
cultural beliefs.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Canadian clergy maintain that Canada holds
religious freedom in the highest regard
and that this matter, however unfortunate,
is more about who is allowed to work in
Canada and less about infringement on
religious practices. And that all comes down
to the whim of the immigration officer on
duty.
Rabbi Don Pacht, head of school of the
Vancouver Hebrew Academy in Vancouver,
B.C., who has practiced as a certified mohel
in both countries for 17 years, said there
is no official governmental certification
in either Canada or the U.S. for mohalim.

They train either under doctors or rabbis,
and their training is not regulated by any
government.
Finding a mohel in the wider Jewish com-
munity in North America is a practice based
on references and trust. Pacht speculated
Singer’s being a medical doctor is what may
have been the determining factor for the
immigration officer’s denial of entry.
“Canada is very liberal in regard to pro-
tecting religious rights, perhaps even more
so than the United States,” said Pacht, who
holds dual citizenship. “As an American,
however, you cannot practice medicine
or surgical procedures in Canada without
proper documentation; and this immigra-
tion official perhaps deemed a circumcision,
even though ritual, as surgery.”
Singer said he will be hesitant to return to
Canada if asked to perform a bris. And if he
does, he said he might have to “hire a good
labor lawyer” to work through the wording
of Canada’s labor laws for foreign clergy.
He remained remorseful for the family
waiting for him to welcome their baby offi-
cially into the Jewish community.
“A beautiful lifecycle event was completely
soured for this family,” Singer said. “I was
wearing a kippah as I went through cus-
toms. I could have just said I was visiting a
friend in Canada, but with a carrying case
containing circumcision surgical equipment
in my trunk, I wanted to be completely hon-
est.”

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