Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
“This is not only an issue of freedom of practice for traditional kosher butcheries. … This is an unacceptable infringement of general freedom of religion,” Herzog said about the ban in his letter. “We thought that restrictions on the practice of religion belonged to Europe’s history, not to its present and even less so to its future. I call on you to do your utmost in order to attempt to roll back this legislation so as to find the right balance between animal rights … and freedom of religion.”
Herzog Calls Belgian Ritual-Slaughter Ban ‘Infringement’ of Religious Freedom
×
Error: Contact form not found.
by JNS.org
Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog speaks during the Public Forum Conference on Nov. 15, 2018. Photo: Tomer Neuberg/Flash90.
JNS.org – Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog sent a letter on Monday to the president of the Belgian regional parliament of Wallonia in an appeal to lift the ban on kosher ritual slaughter without stunning in the region.
The ban, initially legislated in 2017 in relation to Jewish and Muslim slaughter, had been in effect since Sept. 1, 2019. It is currently being enforced in the region of Wallonia, although a court ruling is pending on an appeal. A similar law was previously passed by the Flanders regional parliament in Belgium.
The bill passed by the Wallonia Parliament states that animals must be stunned before being killed—a technique that is not acceptable in accordance with Jewish and Muslim ritual slaughter, which requires animals to be conscious when their throats are slit.
Animal slaughter without prior stunning is already banned in several EU countries, such as Sweden and Denmark, and other nations in Europe, including Switzerland and Norway.
