August 14, 2024 — In 2022, Brendon Marotta, who once explored the circumcision controversy in an independent film, self-published a book and wrote blog posts expressing his opinions about Jewish people related to circumcision. Both Jewish and non-Jewish individuals publicly criticized his writings. Subsequently, Marotta filed a lawsuit claiming he had been defamed, suing only his Jewish critics.
The Hon. Lynn Norton’s opinion makes clear that Marotta’s claims in his lawsuit were without foundation, stating in part: “By placing his articles on a public forum and making them available, Marotta placed his opinions in the forum for criticism. The Court finds it disingenuous to claim that his business is the creation and production of media related to the intactivist movement and then to object to media from the intactivist movement that indicts his opinions.”
Although the lawsuit did not allege any specific wrongdoing by Bruchim, the organization was named in the suit. Bruchim’s mission is largely in the service of supporting non-circumcising Jewish families by helping them locate rabbis for birth ceremonies that do not include circumcision and by encouraging the Jewish community to welcome and include such families.
“We are so grateful to our lawyer Wendy J. Olson, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho, and a partner at Stoel Rives, LLC,” says Bruchim’s president and cofounder Lisa Braver Moss. “Ms. Olson’s expert representation allowed us to end this litigation swiftly.” Moss was personally named in the suit although she made no public statements about Marotta.
Rebecca Wald was also named in the suit, as was her blog Beyond the Bris, where some criticism of Marotta’s writings took place. Since 2010, Beyond the Bris has published articles related to questioning circumcision in a Jewish context. The site includes a statement opposing antisemitism within the genital autonomy movement.
“I’ve never experienced a problem, ever, with anyone from the Jewish community, despite the robust critiques of Jewish tradition that routinely appear on the site,” says Wald. “It is both sad and a little ironic that Beyond the Bris was the subject of a baseless legal attack by a non-Jewish anti-circumcision activist. It paints the movement to question circumcision in an extremely unfavorable light.” Wald adds: “However, I don’t believe Marotta’s words and actions represent most who speak about the foreskin as a natural and beneficial body part.”
“It’s my opinion that this was a strategic lawsuit brought to punish and silence specifically Jewish people for speaking out about the plaintiff’s writings and about antisemitism more broadly,” says Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon, also named in the suit. “Strategic lawsuits are an abuse of the American legal system and are designed to intimidate and shut down discussion. I, for one, will not be intimidated by such tactics. It is my belief that standing against antisemitism and all other forms of bigotry is essential to the health of our society.”
An article that appeared in Forward about the lawsuit when it was filed has since been updated to reflect the dismissal of the case.
