Flemish minister calls for ritual slaughter ban in Belgium

Rabbi Margolin of
European Jewish Association says labeling kosher meat 'will give ammunition to
anti-Semites to attack Jewish tradition.'

The European Jewish Association (EJA)
has voiced its concern over plans to implement a total ban on
the practice of Jewish ritual slaughter in Belgium, insisting the
move is a violation of freedom of religion.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin,
the EJA's general director, spoke out Monday after Flemish Minister for
Animal Welfare Ben Weyts told Belgian television he would actively
pursue a total ban on the practice of animal slaughter without
pre-stunning. If successful, the move could be implemented by 2015
Rabbi Margolin
stressed that the Jewish practice of "shechita" is "the most humane
method of slaughter," as it ensures the welfare of the animal not only
at the time of slaughter, but also concerns itself with "the conditions
in which animals are raised before their slaughter.

"Attacks on Jewish ritual practice are nothing new," he added, "but it is always a sensitive issue for the Jewish people.

"As well as being illogical and inconsistent from the perspective of
animal rights, labeling kosher meat will give ammunition to anti-Semites
to attack Jewish tradition," the rabbi concluded.

Speaking to Belgian television show "De zevende dag" on the VRT
network Sunday morning, Minister Weyts called for religious groups to
adhere to current legislation which allows animal slaughter without
pre-stunning to be carried out only in licensed abattoirs.

Further legislation, he added, was on the agenda for 2015. Whilst
little is known of the substance of this legislation, the cabinet office
of his Belgian government counterpart, Wallon Minister Carlo Di
Antonio, indicated it would "take the same shape as that suggested by"
the Flemish Minister.

In a meeting with Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders earlier
this month, at the head of a delegation of European Jewish
representatives, the deputy prime minister told Rabbi Margolin he had
called on all communities in Belgium to support "a program aimed at
protecting our European values of human rights."

Reynders added that the fight against anti-Semitism would be among the new Belgian government’s foremost priorities.