Hungary’s deputy PM calls EU’s ruling against kosher slaughter a ‘disgrace’
Head of right-wing Christian Democratic People's Party, Zsolt Semjén, criticised the European Court of Justice's decision
Hungary’s deputy prime minister called Thursday’s ruling by the European Union’s highest court in favour of banning kosher slaughter a “disgrace,” setting up the first public international clash over the landmark decision.
“Yesterday’s ruling by the European Court of Justice upholding a ban on kosher ritual slaughter in Belgium is a disgrace to the religious freedom and security of the European Jewish community and is yet one more sign of the total collapse of our traditional Judeo-Christian value system,” said Zsolt Semjén, the head of the right-wing Christian Democratic People’s Party, a coalition partner of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz party.
In the ruling on a petition by several Jewish and Muslim groups, the court said two governments in Belgium did not violate EU civil rights provisions with their 2019 bans on the production of meat from animals that were not stunned before they were killed. The lack of stunning is a requirement of the process for observant Jews and Muslims.
Hungary’s right-wing government, whose critics say has encouraged antisemitism, clashes often with EU institutions on multiple issues, including on illegal immigration into the bloc by asylum seekers and others.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the Brussels-based European Jewish Association, welcomed Semjen’s intervention, saying “Hungary has consistently shown action to match its words.”
The ban had had a “devastating impact on the Belgian Jewish community, creating food shortages – made worse by the pandemic,” said Rabbi Shlomo Koves, leader of the EMIH federation of Jewish communities in Hungary. A slaughterhouse owned by EMIH in Hungary has mitigated the shortages in Belgium.
Jewish community leaders and organisations have sharply protested the ban. European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor has called it “tragic” and said it tells Jews “that our practices are no longer welcome,” and therefore it is “a short step from telling Jews that we are no longer welcome.”
In Western Europe, liberals and right-wing nationalists have united over the past few years to oppose the ritual slaughter of animals and the circumcision of boys. Liberal circles cite animal and child welfare concerns, while nationalists perceive the customs foreign imports that need to be limited to mitigate the perceived effects of the arrival of millions of Muslims to Europe in recent years.
Jews have strict laws to make the slaughter of animals as quick and painless and possible, requiring a trained professional slaughterer and extremely sharp and large knives, among other requirements. Advocates of the custom reject claims that it is crueler than other methods.
The ruling by the EU court, which is based in Luxembourg, is likely to encourage other European courts to enact similar bans, warned Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs.
The Netherlands’ parliament banned ritual slaughter in 2011, but the Dutch senate reversed the ban the following year, citing the need to observe freedom of worship for minorities. If the ban is reintroduced in the Netherlands, “Orthodox Jews will leave,” Jacobs said in a statement.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
