The European Jewish Association said the May 14 police operation in Antwerp included the seizure of medical equipment and demands for lists of infants who had undergone circumcision. The group condemned the actions as a serious violation of religious freedom and warned they could set a dangerous precedent.
In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, more than 50 rabbis and senior Jewish figures from across the continent accused Belgian authorities of infringing on basic rights. “This evokes some of the darkest chapters in European history,” the letter said.
The raids reportedly followed a complaint filed a year earlier by a member of Neturei Karta, an anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jewish group, who is in conflict with Antwerp’s broader Haredi community. Belgian law prohibits any medical procedure, including circumcision, without official medical approval.
Authorities had previously refrained from enforcement, but the complaint prompted police to act. The Jewish association warned that continuing legal proceedings could result in a de facto ban on Jewish life in Belgium.
In a statement, EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin said: “We will not stand by while our faith is put on trial. Circumcision is a sacred commandment practiced safely for thousands of years. Attempts to criminalize this tradition are not only an existential threat to Jewish communal life, but a grave violation of Europe’s core values—religious freedom and human dignity.”
The association also submitted a statement signed by more than 20 senior physicians from Europe, North America and Israel, backed by medical groups including the Global Jewish Health Alliance and the American Jewish Medical Association. The doctors said circumcision performed by certified mohels is a safe procedure that reduces the risk of urinary tract infections, penile cancer and diseases such as HIV. They noted that mohels undergo extensive medical training and adhere to strict safety and hygiene standards.
The EJA urged von der Leyen to publicly condemn the police actions, reaffirm the European Union’s commitment to religious freedom, and call on Belgian authorities to immediately end what it described as persecution of a core Jewish religious practice.
Jewish leaders said the only way to fully resolve the issue may be through emergency legislation legalizing ritual circumcision—similar to action taken by then-Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany after a court ruling temporarily restricted the practice.
