Belgium’s Jewish community has offered to establish a medical commission to evaluate ritual circumcisers, provided that the efforts to criminalise the practice are halted.
This proposal follows news that the Antwerp Public Prosecutor intends to bring two mohels (ritual circumcisers) to court over allegations of illegal circumcisions.
The announcement has raised concerns among the Jewish community, according to Yves Oschinsky, head of the Coordination Committee of Jewish Organisations in Belgium (CCOJB), and Philippe Markiewicz, president of the Central Israeli Consistory of Belgium, the official representative body for Jewish religious practice.
Markiewicz criticised the prosecutor’s move, calling it a "criminalisation of Jewish religious practices". He insisted there is no secrecy surrounding Jewish circumcision, and stressed that parents are not obligated to have it performed.
Under Belgian law, circumcision is classified as a medical procedure. Markiewicz explained that he had submitted a proposal to Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke, stating that technical guarantees regarding the competence of Jewish circumcisers could be provided.
The proposal involves creating a commission within the consistory that would include paediatricians and urologists tasked with assessing the qualifications of each mohel.
Those approved would be listed officially, while those not meeting standards would not be recognised by the Jewish community.
Markiewicz suggested that such an agreement could resolve a legal dispute that might otherwise extend for decades, involving appeals, supreme court reviews, and potentially proceedings at the European Court of Human Rights.
He acknowledged, however, that an agreement is unlikely before the council chamber decides on 18 June whether the two men will face trial.
Political parties in government have reportedly refrained from intervening while the judicial investigation is ongoing, so as to respect the role of the Belgian justice system.
Two more investigations
The judicial case in Antwerp, which sparked a diplomatic row, has also now led to two other investigations in Switzerland and Austria due to a dissident rabbi.
Chief Rabbi Moshe Friedman, born into the ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community in New York but based in Antwerp, also filed complaints in Vienna and Zurich, De Morgen reported on Monday.
"I have information that circumcisions are also being performed in Vienna and Zurich that pose a danger to babies in terms of hygiene and medical follow-up," Friedman confirmed to De Morgen. "I believe that these practices must be investigated and that they must be stopped," he added.
The Zurich Public Prosecutor's Office has confirmed to the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger that Friedman's complaint is currently being investigated.
Whether criminal offences were committed in Vienna or Zurich will reportedly have to be determined by an investigation.
Friedman is known for his anti-Zionist views, with Antwerp's Jewish community having reportedly distanced itself from his comments and positions on certain topics, according to the Jerusalem Post. He has campaigned against the metzitzah b’peh, a traditional circumcision practice involving oral suction.
While male circumcision is not prohibited, Belgian law mandates that all medical procedures, including ritual circumcision, must be performed by a licensed doctor.
