The diplomatic dispute between the US and Belgium about the rules for male circumcision for religious reasons has drawn attention to the lack of harmonised measures in the EU.
As explained by The Brussels Times, the dispute was triggered earlier this week by Bill White, the US Ambassador to Belgium. He called on the Belgian Government to drop an ongoing investigation into three ritual circumcisers (mohels) in the orthodox Jewish community in Antwerp following a police raid last year.
The matter is a sensitive issue which involves freedom of religion, the rights of children and health, and White’s intervention was seen as inappropriate interference in the Belgian judicial system. Belgian Government ministers immediately rejected his comments.
A spokesperson of the European Commission told The Brussels Times on Thursday that judicial and police investigation are national competences and that the Commission has no competence to intervene in such matters.
No EU guidance
The spokesperson also confirmed that the Commission had received and replied to a letter from Jewish organisations across the EU.
The letter, dated 16 July 2025, was addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, with copies to Katharina von Schnurbein (EU Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life), as well as Commissioners Oliviér Várhelyi (health) and Markus Brunner (internal affairs and migration) .
In the letter, the organisations wrote that the raid last year in Antwerp represented a breach of fundamental rights and urged von der Leyen to convey their concerns on this matter to the Belgian Government.
The Commission spokespersons declined to disclose the reply. They also did not reply to a question if the Commission is working on EU guidelines or advice to the Member States on the regulation of circumcision in religious communities (Muslim and Jewish).
“Member States define their own health policies, including the delivery of health services and medical care,” the spokesperson explained.
That said, “the Commission will continue, together with the Member States, to ensure that Jewish people can go about their lives in line with their religious and cultural traditions.”
Allegations of interference
In Belgium, pressure over the diplomatic row has been growing on Michael Freilich (N-VA), the only Jewish member of the federal parliament, whose loyalty to Belgium was questioned.
"The insinuation that a Jewish MP would secretly steer international diplomacy echoes age-old conspiracy theories claiming that ‘the Jews control the world’. Such suggestions are not only absurd, they are antisemitic,” the Jewish Information and Documentation Center (JID) in Antwerp said in a statement on Wednesday.
Freilich reportedly travelled to Washington in May 2025 after the Belgian police raids on several mohels in Antwerp.
According to the Orthodox Jewish weekly Der Yid, Freilich sought US and EU pressure on the Belgian Government to preserve ritual circumcision without legislative interference.
Freilich himself denied the allegations earlier this week, stated that he was misquoted by the newspaper and declined to comment on the current dispute.
He has been advocating for regularisation of male circumcision in Belgium, which would respect both freedom of religion and high medical standards. In Judaism, circumcisions are performed by specially-trained practitioners who do not necessarily have to be physicians.
In an interview last year, Freilich told The Brussels Times that he has in mind a similar framework to that which is in place in Germany and Sweden. In both countries, circumcision can be performed by non-physicians if the persons have been authorised by the authorities at the proposal of the religious community.
