President of the Conference of European Rabbis: 'Belgium is waging a war against Judaism'

The President of the Conference of European Rabbis, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, sharply criticizes the Belgian government over the investigation of mohels in Antwerp, which began in May 2025. He claims Belgium chose confrontation over dialogue, unlike other European countries, and wonders if a political calculation lies behind the policy. He calls for a regulation that protects religious freedom.

In a special interview with C14, the President of the Conference of European Rabbis, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, sharply criticizes the Belgian government regarding the criminal investigation against three mohels in Antwerp, which began in May 2025. He claims that Belgium chose confrontation over dialogue, unlike countries such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, where arrangements exist. Goldschmidt notes that Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke is not advancing a regulation, and asks whether a political calculation lies behind the policy, in light of the reform in the funding of circumcision that harms the Muslim community. He calls for a regulation that protects religious freedom and warns that concern in the Jewish community is growing due to the ban on kosher slaughter in Flanders and Wallonia.