Overview
- Prosecutors in Antwerp moved Wednesday to pursue charges against mohels who perform ritual circumcisions, citing aggravated assault on minors and the unlawful practice of medicine.
- Authorities say Belgian law requires circumcisions to be performed by licensed medical professionals, which prosecutors argue the men violated.
- U.S. Ambassador Bill White and Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned the move and urged Belgium to create a legal path that protects the religious rite.
- Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prévot rejected the accusations of antisemitism and noted the proceedings began with complaints from within the Jewish community, while a judicial panel is set to decide in June whether to send the case to trial.
- Jewish groups warned the prosecutions threaten religious freedom, pointing to 2024 police raids that seized ritual tools and to existing regional limits on kosher slaughter as signs of growing pressure on Jewish life.