A 47-year-old man has appeared in court charged with circumcising a child at a house in Dublin two days ago without being a registered medical practitioner.
Jonathan Abraham, with an address in London, was remanded in custody.
The judge refused bail on the grounds of the seriousness of the charge, the potential flight risk and the nature of the offence.
Mr Abraham was brought by detectives from Blanchardstown before Dublin District Court.
He is accused of performing a surgical procedure - the circumcision of a male child - without being a medical practitioner.
The offence is contrary to section 37 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007.
Detective Garda Megan Furey said that she arrested Mr Abraham at 10.15pm last night at Blanchardstown Garda Station and when the charge was put to him, he made no reply.
The court was told that gardaí went into a house in west Dublin on 30 July after 1pm with the consent of homeowners and Mr Abraham was there dressed in a white doctor’s style coat, wearing blue gloves, with medical implements nearby.
Det Gda Furey said that a very young child was naked on a changing pad and a circumcision had been carried out on another child.
She objected to bail. She said he had flown into Ireland at 12pm and had a return flight for 7pm.
Defence solicitor Tertius Van Eeden said that Mr Abraham was a rabbi and a member of the oldest Anglo-Jewish society that governs the practice and procedure for circumcision.
He said he was a mohel, a person trained and allowed to carry out the practice in line with the Jewish faith.
He never said he was doctor, Mr Van Eeden said, and has ten children aged between two and 22 who are fully dependent on him.
Defence counsel also told the court that this practice would have been allowed and is legal in London where Mr Abraham is from, but Judge Michael Connellan said this was a different jurisdiction.
He refused the application for bail and remanded Mr Abraham in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court next Tuesday.
