Criminal prosecutions of two mohelim in Antwerp, Belgium have sparked condemnation, with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and U.S. Ambassador Bill White labeling the move a “scarlet letter” and a “shameful stain” on the country.
Belgium seems at a crossroads that threatens to further profane its commitment to religious freedom. By pursuing the prosecutions on charges of “intentional assault” and the “unlawful practice of medicine,” the Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office has effectively declared war on a 3,500-year-old cornerstone of the Jewish faith.
Nor is this judicial overreach an isolated incident; it follows Belgium’s earlier ban on kosher slaughter (shechitah), signaling a growing hostility toward Jewish life by making life unlivable for Jews. While Belgian law requires surgical procedures to be performed by licensed physicians, the ritual of bris milah has been safely practiced for centuries without such criminal law interference. To suddenly reclassify this sacred act as “premeditated bodily harm” is a defamatory distortion that criminalizes Judaism itself.
As noted by Rabbi Menachem Margolin of the European Jewish Association, these prosecutions send a chilling message: your traditions are illegal and your way of life is no longer welcome here. And the aggressive tactics used by the authorities – including police raids on homes and the seizure of religious instruments – evoke the darkest chapters of European history and create an environment of fear for the Antwerp Jewish community.
The Belgian government cannot hide behind “judicial independence” while its legal system is used to persecute religious minorities. Other European nations have successfully created legal frameworks that balance medical standards with religious rights.
When a government systematically outlaws the dietary requirements of a minority and then moves to criminalize their defining initiation rite, it cannot claim to be a bastion of tolerance. It is engaging in a modern, bloodless inquisition.
We applaud Israeli Minister Sa’ar for so quickly calling on the Belgian government to change course and U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White for his forceful, unequivocal and immediate condemnation of the indictments. He demonstrated the kind of moral clarity that the State Department often fails to demonstrate.
But sharp statements are no longer enough, especially in the midst of the worldwide explosion of antisemitism.
The United States is in a position to, and must, escalate its diplomatic pressure. The Trump administration has proudly championed international religious freedom as a cornerstone of its foreign policy. The White House must make it explicitly clear to the Belgian government that the bilateral relationship – including economic partnerships and intelligence sharing – is directly contingent upon their respect for fundamental religious liberties.
We should not allow European nations to hide their antisemitism behind the polite veneer of medical regulations and bureaucratic codes. A true ally does not hunt down religious minorities for practicing their faith. Belgium must immediately dismiss these absurd charges, codify legal protections for mohelim, and end its disgraceful war on the Jewish community. If Brussels refuses to act like a civilized, pluralistic democracy, the United States must treat it accordingly.