An overwhelming majority of Israeli Jewish parents circumcise their children in the Jewish ritual ceremony known as brit milah, the Torah-mandated commandment welcoming each Jewish baby boy into God’s covenant on the eighth day after his birth, according to a survey conducted for the Chief Rabbinate prior to the upcoming conference of mohalim (ritual circumcisers).

In addition, 96 percent of young parents, up to the age of 30, had no doubts about the child’s circumcision, and 93 percent of the parents chose a mohel who was certified by the Chief Rabbinate.

The survey was conducted among 501 parents who had a male child over the past five years.

In 2013, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that hospital circumcision rates had declined in the United States, from 64.5 percent in 1979 to 58.3 percent in 2010. The overall decline was almost entirely due to decline in Western states, from 63.9 percent in 1979 to 40.2 percent in 2010.

No such problem in Israel, where a resounding 98 percent of parents reported circumcising their sons.

The vast majority of Israeli Jewish parents even decided that they would choose the mohel of their first son to conduct the brit milah of their next male child.

The survey revealed that the most prevalent way for parents to choose a mohel is by word of mouth.

In early December, Israel’s public radio Kan reported that about 43 newborns on average are rushed to hospital each year in Israel following complications in their circumcision, but only nine mohalim have been investigated since 2011. At the same time, over the past decade, the Health Ministry received 144 complaints about complications in circumcisions that were conducted by physicians. It appears that since 2013 there has been a trend of a rise in complaints against medical doctors who perform circumcisions.