Kosher meat has been banned in the Belgian region of Walloon, after the region’s politicians outlawed the slaughter of unstunned animals.
Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress (EJC), told the Independent: “It attacks the very core of our culture and religious practice and our status as equal citizens with equal rights in a democratic society. It gives succour to antisemites and to those intolerant of other communities and faiths.”
He added: “We call on legislators to step back from the brink of the greatest assault on Jewish religious rights in Belgium since the Nazi occupation of the country in the Second World War.”
Under kashrut and halal rituals, butchers are required to swiftly slaughter the animal without stunning it. Animal rights campaigners have condemned the processes as inhumane.
Similar moves have already been taken by other countries, including Denmark, Switzerland and New Zealand. Read more at The JC.
{Matzav}
