There is the Jewish / Zionist angle to consider as well (fwiw, I am Jewish myself).
Male infant circumcision is a deep-seated Jewish tradition, and leading Jewish organizations typically consider efforts to restrict male circumcision as an existential threat to Jewish life and Judaism itself.
For example, consider the AHA Foundation. led and founded by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
As noted in the blog post above, the AHA Foundation thoroughly minimizes male circumcision, and in general seeks to distance FGM from MGM. However, before Hirsi Ali moved to the United States and founded AHA, she was actually an outspoken critic of both female cutting *and* male cutting. See youtube video "The Consequences can be worse for Boy than for Girl", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaEoQVZnN8I
As noted on the Influence Watch page for the AHA Foundation at https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/aha-foundation/ , major sources of funding include the Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, the Kovner Foundation, the Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, and the Adelson Family Foundation.
The Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles is strongly pro-Zionist, and equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
The Kovner Foundation and the Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation are both major contributors to the neoconservative pro-Zionist American Enterprise Institute.
Regarding the Adelson Family Foundation, Influence Watch, notes: "The Adelson Family Foundation (AFF) is a private grantmaking organization that primarily supports programs that benefit the state of Israel and the Jewish people. The organization was established in 2007 by the late billionaire businessman and philanthropist Sheldon G. Adelson and his wife Miriam Adelson." (Miriam Adelson, a dual American-Israeli citizen born in Tel Aviv, is close to both Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, and along with her husband Sheldon Adelson provided major financial support to both of their political careers.)
Yes, Ayaan Hirsi Ali is on record saying male circumcision can be worse than FGM. I was surprised to see her organization not doing the same.
I'll research the other connections you mentioned. I think the other conflicts of interest are enough to create an issue, but this would further complicate it. Might be a follow-up article, depending on what I find.
There is the Jewish / Zionist angle to consider as well (fwiw, I am Jewish myself).
Male infant circumcision is a deep-seated Jewish tradition, and leading Jewish organizations typically consider efforts to restrict male circumcision as an existential threat to Jewish life and Judaism itself.
For example, consider the AHA Foundation. led and founded by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
As noted in the blog post above, the AHA Foundation thoroughly minimizes male circumcision, and in general seeks to distance FGM from MGM. However, before Hirsi Ali moved to the United States and founded AHA, she was actually an outspoken critic of both female cutting *and* male cutting. See youtube video "The Consequences can be worse for Boy than for Girl", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaEoQVZnN8I
As noted on the Influence Watch page for the AHA Foundation at https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/aha-foundation/ , major sources of funding include the Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, the Kovner Foundation, the Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, and the Adelson Family Foundation.
The Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles is strongly pro-Zionist, and equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
The Kovner Foundation and the Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation are both major contributors to the neoconservative pro-Zionist American Enterprise Institute.
Regarding the Adelson Family Foundation, Influence Watch, notes: "The Adelson Family Foundation (AFF) is a private grantmaking organization that primarily supports programs that benefit the state of Israel and the Jewish people. The organization was established in 2007 by the late billionaire businessman and philanthropist Sheldon G. Adelson and his wife Miriam Adelson." (Miriam Adelson, a dual American-Israeli citizen born in Tel Aviv, is close to both Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, and along with her husband Sheldon Adelson provided major financial support to both of their political careers.)
Yes, Ayaan Hirsi Ali is on record saying male circumcision can be worse than FGM. I was surprised to see her organization not doing the same.
I'll research the other connections you mentioned. I think the other conflicts of interest are enough to create an issue, but this would further complicate it. Might be a follow-up article, depending on what I find.