Brussels – European Rabbis Slam Dutch Ban on Jewish Slaughter

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    Brussels – The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) has slammed a decision by the Dutch parliament to ban Jewish religious slaughter.

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    CER President Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt called the ban an outrage in that it would prevent Jews from living a Jewish life in The Netherlands.

    “We have passed the stage of arguing the nuances of intention of anti-Semiitsm. The practical effects of this bill mean that Jews are no longer welcome in The Netherlands. This has not happened for 70 years,” Rabbi Goldschmidt said.

    On Tuesday, the Dutch lower house passed a bill banning all meat which is not stunned before slaughter.

    The effect of this legislation will see the banning of kosher and halal slaughter.

    Rabbi Goldschmidt said that “on the basis of flawed and agenda-based science and merely to appease an ill-informed Animal Welfare Lobby, the Netherlands has thrown away centuries of liberalism, human rights, welcome and tolerance for Jews.”

    “We will not rest until this discriminatory, intolerant and hateful bill is thrown out. We call upon the members of the Dutch Senate to use their constitutional powers to restore the dignity of their country,” Rabbi Goldschmidt said.

    The Conference of European Rabbis federates Jewish religious leaders in over 40 European states and includes all the continent’s chief rabbis and senior rabbinical judges. The CER holds consultancy status as an NGO at the Council of Europe and within the institutions of the European Union.


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    12 Comments
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    shredready
    shredready
    12 years ago

    what is the issue with stunning first?

    and just do not say it makes it no kosher, I want to know the reason behind the halacha

    charliehall
    charliehall
    12 years ago

    ” an outrage in that it would prevent Jews from living a Jewish life in The Netherlands.”

    While it is indeed an outrage, it does not prevent Jews from living a Jewish life, as (1) there is no chiyuv to eat meat when there is no temple, and (2) there is still no restriction on importing kosher meat to the Netherlands. We should fight this but we should not engage in hyperbole — inaccurate claims will not help our cause.

    DovidTheK
    DovidTheK
    12 years ago

    This is meda kneged meda punishment for the Dutch making a minhag to wait only one hour between fleishig and milchig.
    Now they can’t eat fleishig anymore, so the one hour minhag is history.

    Shlomtzy
    Shlomtzy
    12 years ago

    Be very careful. This is not an isolated story. Watch how other European countries begin debating this as well. And then North America…..
    I’m not saying every country will ban shchita as well. But if you think no other country in the world will try this as well, you’re mistaken.
    Time to move to Eretz Yisroel.

    Groningen
    Groningen
    12 years ago

    If “meda kneged meda” applies here, it is rather a result of the sympathy Dutch Jews have felt for Muslim immigrants, now they are getting the same treatment as the Muslims, and well, if the work of one shochet on Monday is enough for over 30,000 Jews, it won’t have such a huge impact. I am afraid that Golschmidt’s words will not help much, if there is one thing that this prohibition can be said not to be, it is discriminatory.

    On the other hand, the Dutch christian parties, who were pretty insensitive to this decades ago, now feel what it is to be a religious minority and form a pro-shechita block now.