BRUSSELS PARLIAMENT WON’T BAN KOSHER SLAUGHTER – EUROPEAN JEWISH ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN APPLAUDS DECISION

June 18, 2022

“Where Brussels has led, others must follow”, says EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, adds “thank goodness for 3 Parliaments in Belgium.”

 

(Brussels 17 June). In a closely contested vote (42 against, 38 for) the Brussels Parliament has just voted not to ban Kosher slaughter in the Capital Region.

 

The move represents a victory for Jews in the Belgian Capital and stands in contrast to both Flanders and Wallonia (Belgium’s other regions) where bans on Kosher slaughter are in place.

 

Welcoming the vote, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the Chairman of the European Jewish Association that represents hundreds of communities across the Continent, and whose offices are headquartered in Brussels said in a statement:

 

“After a steady stream of bans across Europe that has left many communities bereft of local Kosher meat and having to shoulder the increased expenses of importing meat, we applaud this vote by Belgium’s Capital Parliament.

 

“The expense of course is of secondary concern to the overwhelming feeling from communities across the continent that their faith and traditions are constantly under threat by ill-though out , or malign legislation. 

 

“It is not said too often, but thank goodness for 3 parliaments in Belgium. There are few bastions left where Freedom of Religion is still considered a fundamental right. As a citizen of Brussels, I am proud that the capital is such a bastion. Where Brussels has led, others must now follow”.

Additional Articles

Some 38% of European Jews consider leaving due to antisemitisim

“The Dutch government is spearheading a crucial investigation into the fate of Jewish property looted during the Holocaust. However, a disheartening reality emerges as a staggering 80 cities, towns and villages in the Netherlands decline to participate in this vital mission,” according to Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs.

“Some claim there are no remaining Jewish residents in their communities, while others assert that the property has already been returned, despite conflicting information. This concerning trend reflects a growing wave of antisemitism in the Netherlands, a deeply rooted issue that traces back to the Crusades in the Middle Ages and has persisted through the critical race theory era.
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הרב ג'ייקובס. "אנטישמיות עולה בהולנד"

Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs addresses the annual conference of the Association of Jewish Organizations in Europe
(Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)
“Today, this pernicious virus continues to thrive under the guise of anti-Zionism, posing a significant threat to societal harmony.”
With these words, Jacobs, the chief rabbi of the Netherlands, delivered a poignant address Tuesday during the inaugural session of the two-day annual conference organized by the Association of Jewish Organizations in Europe (EJA).
Held this year in the vibrant city of Porto, Portugal, in collaboration with the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish community of Porto, and the EMIH – Association of United Hungarian Jewish Congregations, the conference has drawn together some 150 influential leaders representing Jewish communities and organizations from across Europe.
In an announcement made at the conference, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association (EJA), unveiled a proactive initiative aimed at addressing the rising tide of antisemitism on European campuses.
Recognizing the alarming instances of harassment faced by Jewish and pro-Israel students from faculty members, the EJA is taking decisive action by establishing a dedicated task force and launching a scholarship program specifically designed to empower and protect Jewish students and young individuals.
Jacobs recounted a recent conversation he had with the mayor of a city that once boasted a vibrant Jewish community before the Holocaust. Tragically, the majority of the community perished, leaving only two survivors in its wake.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Jacobs lamented: “There was a synagogue there. The mayor approached the remaining Jews, expressing interest in purchasing the synagogue. However, its value had diminished, as there were no longer worshippers.”
He further emphasized the irony of the situation, stating: “First, they murdered the Jews, and then they claimed the synagogue held no worth due to their absence.”
Highlighting the present climate, Jacobs shared his own experience.
“Today, when I address non-Jewish audiences in the Netherlands, they compliment my proficiency in Dutch, unaware of my Jewish heritage. I respond, ‘I’m sorry, but I have been Dutch for several generations.’ Their reply stings: ‘Sorry, we mistakenly assumed you were Jewish.'”
Read more-  https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkf9kywrh

Words by our board member, Binyomin Jacobs, Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands

Dear people,
The fact that we are all experiencing a difficult period needs no elucidation. We are all in the same distressing boat.
But the way in which we deal with this quarantine, with the loneliness, with just sitting and filling our time, is something in which we differ.
I mostly fill my time with my phone and behind my computer. Just to call to ask the common question: how are you?
Is such an expression of interest worthwhile?
I think so. I also have been called several times and have received various WhatsApp messages with the question: how are you? Believe me when I say that it really did me good that someone takes the time to also ask how I am doing. I am a human being, too, and nothing that is human is strange to me. The interest did me good. And thus I am convinced that when I call somebody, he or she will also get a nice feeling from my phone call.
But I want to share with you a phone call that I made with an old lady. I don’t know how she experienced my call, but I certainly know how I experienced it.
It concerned an elderly lady, who lives in a town on the Veluwe. This lady has not had an easy life, to express it euphemistically. A multiplicity of complex problems, kilometres away from all that is Jewish. A difficult childhood and a marriage that tragically fell apart. Very poor and consequently living in a small apartment. And now at home all day, with no one to talk to, because she has no family left at all. And then I call her up with the question how are you?
So I don’t know what the phone call meant to her, but to me it was very impressive and educational. How are you? was my somewhat automatic question. Her reply, however, was far from ordinary:
I am doing great. Just came back from the supermarket. It was wonderfully quiet and the few customers that were there radiated friendliness. And on the street it was so impressively quiet. I heard the birds sing. No roar of planes flying overhead, magnificent crocuses in full bloom, a serene feel of quietness and peace… how beautiful, actually.
I immediately had to think about this teacher that gave his students a test. All the students received a piece of paper in front of them with the blank side facing up. They were only allowed to flip over the sheet when the teacher gave them permission. When all the students were properly seated, the teacher told them that they all had to flip over the sheet and write down what they saw on the other side. But they didn’t see anything on that other side. The piece of paper was completely blank with only in the middle a small black dot. So all the students wrote down that they saw a black dot.
After handing in the pieces of paper they were told that they had answered the question incorrectly, because, as the teacher pointed out, the right answer would have been that they saw a blank sheet of paper. That tiny dot in the middle was completely negligible relative to the piece of paper.
The same applies to when we see what the other does wrong; too often, we simply don’t pay attention to the good that he does.
And what about the neighbour’s beautiful car? That is what we see, but we don’t know what takes place at his home.
But also when I look at myself. Am I suffering from my shortcomings and am I perhaps not paying attention to what I am able to do?
That is also the way it is in quarantine at the moment. Am I fixating exclusively on…
I think of that elderly lady, all alone, nobody around her, a less than enviable childhood. And when I ask her how she is doing under the current difficult circumstances, her reply is inspiring. The black dot on the blank sheet of paper did not attract her attention!
Please stay strong and healthy. May G’d bless you for years to come with prosperity and health.
And don’t forget to call someone and ask them How are you?
Binyomin Jacobs, Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands

Israeli parliament speaker urges 'sincere' EU action against anti-Semitism

Yuli Edelsetin speaks at EU on International Holocaust Memorial Day
Israeli parliament speaker Yuli Edelstein addressed a special session of European parliament marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday, and accused EU leaders of contradictory approaches to fighting anti-Semitism in Europe while repeatedly condemning Israel.
Edelstein praised efforts to combat anti-Semitism but said that public rebuke for Israel contradicted messages coming from many elected officials.

“The efforts to combat anti-Semitism and protect the Jews of Europe are sincerely appreciated,” Edelstein said at the Brussels ceremony. “But what is the message when elected officials march with the Jewish community one day, and against Israel the next?”
The speaker declared that when leaders embrace the Jewish leaders “in solidarity after a hate-crime and then treat Hamas as a legitimate voice. When an attack is condemned as anti-Semitic and then condemns Israel for fabricated war crimes.”
“These contradictory messages do not build trust. Instead they prevent us from meeting our joint obligations,” he said.
Edelstein also chided an EU delegation that recently traveled to Tehran for failing to condemn a Holocaust denial cartoon contest hosted in Tehran.
“I’m sure, and correct me if I’m wrong, that during that visit no one protested the international cartoon contest taking place in Tehran for the best caricature denying the Holocaust,” Edelstein said, brandishing the contest’s first prize winner — an old fashioned cash register with a sketch of Auschwitz at the top.
“It’s about Jews exploiting the Holocaust to get money,” he said, noting that the illustrator came from France.
“For ‘Never Again’ to really mean ‘Never Again’, consistent and sincere actions are necessary,” Edelstein said. “Anti-Semitism, wherever it rears its ugly head, for whatever reason, is wrong and must be fought at every turn. Writing off such acts as mere opposition to Israel is absurd.”
“Anti-Semitism has no excuse. not religion, not poverty, not lack of education, and not political disagreements,” he said.
Edelstein also thanked the United States for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“In Jerusalem the Jewish people made their mark on the world, therefore it was meaningful to us, that last month, one country, the United States, chose to recognize the capital of Israel after 70 years of independence,” said Edelstein.”Acknowledging both our ancient heritage and our modern history, I welcome all of you to do the same.”
Edeltsein told the story of his own father who survived the Holocaust and asserted that though memorials are being constructed across the world, anti-Semitism still runs rampant.
“Yet, for all the work that has been done I feel that the post war sense and mission has faded, leaving the real issues unaddressed,” said Edelstein.
Edelsetin asked the European parliament “what has been learned from all the memorials if synagogues across Europe need round the clock protection?”
“Is Holocaust education effective if Jews on this continent don’t wear a kippah or a Star of David necklace for fear of attack?” said the speaker.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day will be commemorated on January 27. Israel memorializes its national tragedy separately, in memory of the six million Jews who were slaughtered under Nazi rule.
 
The article was published on I24news

The European Jewish Association and the Rabbinical Centre of Europe are delighted to announce a brand new project that we are rolling out across Europe

The European Jewish Association and the Rabbinical Centre of Europe are delighted to announce a brand new project that we are rolling out across Europe, directly helping the sick and needy with the often expensive costs associated with securing much needed medical equipment.
Our brand new medical equipment lending centre means that the sick and immobile needn’t worry about buying wheelchairs, or expensive crutches walkers and the like.
We will provide them to communities on a need-by-need basis at no cost. When recuperation is over, the items simply get returned to the local community lending branch centre and passed to the next person that needs them.
This simple, effective project overseen by us but run at branch level by communities is open to everyone, but supplies are limited.
For more information on setting up a branch, or to apply for help. Please contact us at Rkaplan@rce.eu.com

Additional Communities
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Schweiz
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