An anti-Semitism row between Belgium and Israel has escalated after authorities charged ultra-orthodox rabbis with conducting unsafe circumcisions on toddlers in the city of Antwerp. The US has backed the Israelis in the matter.
The ritual is thousands of years old but is considered unsafe by Belgian standards, which require a doctor to perform the procedure.
The diplomatic spat first erupted in February but escalated this week when Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar reacted to the announcement of the indictment of the three rabbis on Wednesday.
“This is a scarlet letter on Belgian society,” he wrote on X. “With this act Belgium joins a short and shameful list, together with Ireland, of countries that use criminal law to prosecute Jews for practising Judaism.”
Mr Saar urged Belgian authorities to emulate European countries that have created specific legal frameworks for the ritual.
US ambassador Bill White described the prosecution of the rabbis as a “shameful stain on Belgium”. He called on the Belgian government to “find a certification solution immediately”.
“Belgium will be thought of now as anti-Semitic by the world. Until this is resolved – there is no way around it,” he wrote on X.
He also condemned the “political inaction” by the Belgium government to work with “beautiful Jewish communities”.
This led to Prime Minister Bart de Wever saying that Belgian health standards must be respected by all.
“Circumcision is essential for the Jewish faith and Islam, but so are the quality standards of our legislation. You have to reconcile the two. What you shouldn’t do is create a whole societal controversy around it with harsh statements about anti-Semitism. That contributes nothing at all,” Mr de Wever told Belgian broadcaster VRT. “Legislation obviously stands above any religion and above any world view or ideology.”
The Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office was reported by news website Euractiv as seeking trial for two men, not three, as claimed by Mr Saar. They are accused of “intentional assault or battery with premeditation against minors” for performing circumcision without a medical licence. It will be decided next month whether the men will be sent to trial.
They were initially investigated after a complaint by a member of the Jewish community in Antwerp. News website The Jerusalem Post reported that he had filed a police complaint against six mohels – rabbis trained in circumcision – who practise an ultra-orthodox version of circumcision. Belgium prosecutors have alleged this amounts to an aggravated assault on minors.
Responding to Mr Saar, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the accusations of anti-Semitism were “defamatory” and that the judiciary was independent from political influence.
Replying to Mr White on social media, Mr Prevot said: “I urge you to exercise greater restraint and to view your role in its proper context. It is inappropriate to publicly criticise a country and tarnish its image simply because you disagree with judicial proceedings. I have already told you this. Would you consider it acceptable for our ambassador in Washington to do the same?”
Germany in 2012 passed a law that ritual circumcision was legal after a court deemed it constituted bodily harm. Norway allows it but only in the presence of a medical doctor. Both are among a handful of countries.
