{"id":23156,"date":"2025-05-15T19:00:55","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T16:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=23156"},"modified":"2025-05-15T15:59:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T12:59:20","slug":"lines-crossed-in-antwerp-as-jewish-rituals-targeted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/lines-crossed-in-antwerp-as-jewish-rituals-targeted\/","title":{"rendered":"Lines Crossed in Antwerp as Jewish Rituals Targeted"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A serious incident took place yesterday (Wednesday) in Antwerp, where police raided the homes of Jewish <em>mohels<\/em> and confiscated circumcision tools and knives. Officers demanded information about children who had undergone circumcision over the past year, in violation of local laws that prohibit the practice. The raid was carried out under a court order, issued following a complaint submitted to the local police.<\/p>\n<p>In response to the incident, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, MK Rabbi Moshe Roth, sent a letter to the Belgian Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Stefaan Thijs, and to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;One of the most sacred commandments&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nIn his letter, MK Roth described the raid as \u201ca grave violation of religious freedom and individual rights,\u201d adding: \u201cThe ritual of <em>brit milah<\/em> is one of the most fundamental and sacred commandments in Jewish tradition for thousands of years. Any attempt to infringe upon it is felt as a direct assault on the heart of Jewish identity.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_23159\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23159\" style=\"width: 741px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-23159 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-111-741x1024.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"741\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-111-741x1024.webp 741w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-111-217x300.webp 217w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-111-768x1061.webp 768w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-111-1112x1536.webp 1112w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-111.webp 1206w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23159\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Letter from MK Moshe Roth to the Belgian Ambassador in Israel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>A red line has been crossed<\/strong><br \/>\nRoth emphasized that the raid marked a red line being crossed, particularly in light of the recent commemoration of Victory Day over Nazi Germany. \u201cIncidents like this bring back painful memories of the persecution Jews endured in Europe just 80 years ago,\u201d he wrote. Roth called for an immediate review of the incident, the return of the confiscated circumcision instruments to their rightful owners, and a firm guarantee of full protection for religious freedom in Belgium.<\/p>\n<p><strong>European Jewish groups condemn the raid<\/strong><br \/>\nThe European Jewish Association condemned the police action in Antwerp, calling it yet another red line crossed against Jewish religious figures in the country. \u201cFollowing the ban on kosher slaughter, the intimidation of mohels is a clear warning signal to Belgian Jews and to the Belgian government. Religious freedom must be protected,\u201d the organization stated.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Institutional persecution<\/strong><br \/>\nThe League for Action and Defense Against Antisemitism in Europe also voiced concern over the developments, stating: \u201cSince World War II, there has not been such institutionalized persecution by law enforcement authorities against Jews observing their religious practices. The authorities must ensure the physical and spiritual safety of their Jewish citizens\u2014not become another force threatening the continuation of Jewish life in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Police in Antwerp raided the homes of Jewish mohels and confiscated circumcision instruments, following a complaint filed at the local police station. The Jewish community warns: &#8220;A serious violation of religious freedom.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":23158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,2276,8,6,65],"tags":[1603,5706,5701,5704,5702,4265,5705,3351,2205,1753,4867,5703],"class_list":["post-23156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-judaism","category-people","category-politics","category-security","category-world","tag-antisemitism","tag-antwerp-police","tag-belgium","tag-belgium-israel-relations","tag-circumcision","tag-europe","tag-european-jewish-association-eja","tag-foreign-minister","tag-gideon-saar","tag-jewish-community","tag-religious-freedom","tag-stefaan-thijs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.7 (Yoast SEO v24.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lines Crossed in Antwerp as Jewish Rituals Targeted - REGA news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lines Crossed in Antwerp as Jewish Rituals Targeted\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Police in Antwerp raided the homes of Jewish mohels and confiscated circumcision instruments, following a complaint filed at the local police station. 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