EU commissioner defends Jewish rites amid Belgian 'milah' row
Amid an international diplomatic row over the prosecution of three Jews in Belgium for performing brith milah, the E.U. commissioner for health and animal welfare said on Thursday that in addition to keeping Jews safe, European nations should allow them to practice their faith.
The commissioner, Olivér Várhelyi, spoke during a gathering to celebrate Rosh Hashanah organized by the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) in Brussels, at the offices of the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the European Union.
“Europe cannot say that the Jewish life belongs here, while making it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to live a full Jewish life here,” said Várhelyi, a Hungarian politician who belongs to the Fidesz party of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. “Jewish traditions and Jewish religious practice must be therefore respected and protected.”
Shortly before the Rosh Hashanah gathering, CER’s chief rabbi, Pinchas Goldschmidt, unveiled a seven-point manifesto on how E.U. authorities should tackle religious extremism, mainly within Muslim communities, that fuels antisemitic violence. Várhelyi addressed this issue, saying: “There is no justification for intimidation or violence. No Jew in Europe should ever have to choose between being visibly Jewish and feeling safe.”
But, he added, “Belonging is much more than about security. It must be that Jewish life has a future in Europe. A future lived openly, confidently and proudly.”
Earlier this year, Belgian prosecutors said they would indict three mohels, Jewish professionals trained in the removal of the foreskin, typically in 8-day old Jewish male babies. The procedure, which CER defines as cosmetic and nonsurgical, is part of the brith milah ritual, an initiation into the Jewish faith.
Prosecutors are preparing to indict the mohels for allegedly violating Belgian laws that state only licensed medical practitioners may perform surgical procedures. The affair has caused a diplomatic uproar after Israel and the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, called the prosecution antisemitic. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot defended the prosecution, claiming, falsely, that representatives of the Jewish community supported it.
In Belgium and elsewhere in Europe, the legality of brith milah is being challenged by activists, often left-wing secularists, who cite child welfare principles. Some right-wing anti-immigration activists also support a ban on brith milah, a version of which also exists in Muslim communities. A similar debate is happening around the kosher and halal slaughter of animals for meat. Two out of Belgium’s three regions—Wallonia and the Flemish Region—have effectively banned those methods, in addition to several E.U. member states. Currently, Belgium is the only E.U. country where mohels are under a criminal investigation.
The CER manifest calls to train and certify religious leaders; expose and block extremist funding; strengthen oversight of religious institutions; appoint community safeguarding officers; defend the digital space; show zero tolerance for hate on the streets; and create a European register of “responsible” religious institutions.
Elected officials must refrain from inflammatory rhetoric on Israel, which also drives antisemitic hatred, Goldschmidt said. “There is a direct correlation between statements that are perceived by the population as antisemitic—sometimes it’s a dog whistle—and the acts of those getting the ‘green light’ to act violently,” the rabbi told JNS at the event.
Gady Gronich, CEO and chief of staff to the president of the Munich-based Conference of European Rabbis, said the manifesto was a wake-up call to E.U. officials to activate plans that were presented to them years ago.
The manifesto point about training religious faith leaders in observing E.U. tolerance principles, Gronich said, is the subject of a CER action plan that several universities and Muslims faith leaders had already signed off on, but which remains unimplemented by the European Commission office to which it was submitted.
“This initiative came from the Muslim side, actually, and it’s lying in a European Commission office not far away from here, in one of these buildings, waiting to be activated for the past five to six years,” Gronich said.
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EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi defended Jewish religious practices, including brith milah, amid a diplomatic dispute over Belgium's prosecution of three Jews for performing the ritual. Speaking at a Rosh Hashanah event in Brussels, Várhelyi stated, "Europe cannot say that the Jewish life belongs here, while making it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to live a full Jewish life here." He emphasized that Jewish traditions must be respected and protected, and that "No Jew in Europe should ever have to choose between being visibly Jewish and feeling safe."
- The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt unveiled a seven-point manifesto addressing religious extremism and antisemitic violence, advocating for measures such as training religious leaders and strengthening oversight of religious institutions.
- The Belgian prosecution of mohels (those who perform circumcisions) for allegedly violating laws requiring surgical procedures to be performed by licensed medical practitioners has drawn criticism from Israel and the U.S. ambassador to Belgium.
- Similar debates are occurring in Europe regarding kosher and halal animal slaughter, with two of Belgium's three regions having effectively banned these methods.
- The CER manifesto also calls for elected officials to avoid inflammatory rhetoric on Israel, which Rabbi Goldschmidt noted has a "direct correlation between statements that are perceived by the population as antisemitic...and the acts of those getting the ‘green light’ to act violently."
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