The European Jewish Association is proud and delighted to welcome another organisation to our growing roster of partners and communities.
We have just concluded and signed a memorandum of understanding with The Jewish Community of the NIG-Groningen (Nederlands – Israëlitische Gemeente Groningen).
We are sure that this cooperation will bring with it beautiful and important accomplishments. We look forward to working for the betterment of Dutch and European Jewry together.
Following the attack, police said they were increasing security around Jewish sites in consultation with Jewish groups.A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing and critically wounding an Orthodox Jewish man Saturday morning on the streets of Zurich, Swiss police announced.Zurich police said that they suspect antisemitism as the motive in the stabbing attack that occurred Saturday evening.Police said the perpetrator attacked the 50-year-old man “and critically injured him with a stabbing weapon.” They described the perpetrator as 15-year-old Swiss citizen who was arrested him at the scene.The Swiss Organization of Jewish Communities said it was “deeply shocked that a community member fell victim to such an attack.”The Swiss Organization of Jewish Communities said it was “deeply shocked that a community member fell victim to such an attack.”“Physical attacks on Jewish people in Switzerland are very rare,” it said. “The Jewish community has been spared from such life-threatening attacks for the past two decades. However, there has been a significant increase in such physical attacks since Oct. 7.”Following the attack, police said they were increasing security around Jewish sites in consultation with Jewish groups.
Orthodox Jewish man stabbed by teenager in Zurich in antisemitic attack
An exception remains for cattle and calves. Pending a more developed technique, post-cut stunning will remain in effect, a stunning immediately after the slaughter.
Slaughterhouses now have a year and a half to adapt their infrastructure and train their staff in these new practices. Flemish Minister of Animal Welfare Ben Weyts said he is pleased with the vote and called Flanders ”a leader in animal welfare in Europe.”
Another Belgian region, Wallonia, has also voted a similar legislation.
Shechita, the Jewish ritual slaughter, requires that butchers swiftly slaughter the animal by slitting its throat and draining the blood.
The Jewish community in Belgium has slammed the Flemish and Walloon regions given their clear repercussions for the community.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, head of the European Jewish Association (EJA), a Brussels-based group representing Jewish communitiers across Europe, has accused lawmakers of targeting Jews and said the decisions ”have a strong stench of populism.”
”This is a direct attack on Jews and our practice when it comes to slaughtering. When it comes to the mass market slaughterhouses, where mistakes frequently affect up to 10% of all animals, meaning they die in an awful painful death, compared to shechita, the kosher slaughter, where the suffering of the animal is kept to the most minimum levels possible,” he said. ”It quickly becomes apparent that this decision is not about health or animal welfare. It simplly represents the politics of division,” Rabbi Margolin added, stressing that ”we will fight this latest decision wih all legal and political means at our disposal.”
CCOJB, the representative body of Belgian Jewish organisations, regretted the Flemish parliament vote and its consequences on Jewish ritual slaughter. ‘’Wallonia and Flanders are sending a wrong political message to the citizens of our country because these laws do not respect the European rules on this matter,’’ said CCOJB President Yohan Benizri in a statement. ”This vote intervenes despite numerous juridical and moral objections that have been put forward these last months as this measure indirectly bans ritual slaughter.”
Shabbat Shalom, Europe!
The EJA is happy to announce that we are distributing Menorahs and candles for various congregations across all corners of Europe!
Interested?
We kindly request that you fill in the form to be found through this link:
https://members.smoove.io/lk0tibd1y68dbmybby9nnghn1fcbxi7pxgrn399ntbgtnhtnd9nbx9drgmb9g.ashx
Have a wonderful day!
The EJA sends our abiding support to the citizens of Israel, assailed by rocket fire from Gaza, and orchestrated riots in Jerusalem. Nobody in Israel wants violence, but Hamas and the Palestinian Authority sadly do not share that view and are ratcheting up violence and tension. We stand for Israel. We stand fir Peace. We stand for an end to this folly.
It’s a challenging time for Jewish communities in Europe. Anti-Semitism is on the rise as populism and the politics of the lowest common denominator are gaining traction. Our communities often need round the clock protection and our practices and customs such as keeping Kosher are under pressure from increasing political interference.
