A storm in the Jewish world following the decision of the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled that the ban on kosher slaughter in Belgium should not be lifted and thus violated the religious freedom of European Jews.
Chairman of the Association of Jewish Organizations in Europe, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, He said that “the tribunal sent a terrible message to the Jews of Europe – you and your customs are not welcome here. What today’s ruling does is put animal welfare above the basic right of religious freedom. In simple words, the beast is superior to man.”
Rabbi Margolin warned that the ruling could give the green light to other European countries to follow Belgium and ban kosher slaughter and poses a real danger that there will be no kosher meat available across the continent.
The Foreign Ministry said they would work to change the decision. “The European Court of Justice today upheld the actual ban on kosher slaughter in Belgium, sending a harsh message to all of European Jewry. Beyond the fact that the decision violates freedom of worship and religion in Europe, which is at the heart of the EU, it signals Jewish communities are undesirable in Europe.”
“It is important that you find a way to change the decision and allow the Jewish citizens of the Union to continue to observe the precepts of the Jewish religion. Any other decision is contrary to the values of religious freedom that EU citizens rightly uphold,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Member of the French Parliament Meir Habib He noted that “the Belgian case is unfortunately not the first in Europe. This is a very bad sign. This decision raises concerns about the future of European Jewry, which is already facing rampant anti-Semitism.”
“Kashrus is one of the main elements of Jewish identity. Without slaughter there is no kosher and without kosher, the Jewish community in Europe is doomed. Europe’s historical and moral debt to the Jewish people is too significant to negate the slaughter, which has been practiced for two thousand years. The law, “Habib added.