Belgian Police Raid Mohels’ Homes, Sparking Outcry from Jewish Community Over Religious Freedom Violations

By: Fern Sidman

In a move that has triggered deep concern and alarm across Belgium’s Jewish population, local authorities conducted police raids on the homes of three mohels—Jewish ritual circumcisers—in Antwerp on Wednesday. As World Israel News (WIN) reported, the operation was part of an ongoing investigation into what Belgian authorities describe as “illegal circumcision practices,” but community leaders and international Jewish organizations see it as another chapter in what they claim is Belgium’s increasing encroachment on traditional Jewish life.

The police action, which occurred in Antwerp’s Jewish Quarter and the nearby Green Quarter, reportedly involved the seizure of religious equipment used by the mohels. While no arrests were made, the raids have sent shockwaves through the city’s Jewish population, which is already under pressure from several government restrictions on Jewish religious practices.

According to the report on World Israel News, Belgian law currently restricts circumcision procedures to licensed medical professionals, effectively criminalizing traditional mohels unless they are also certified physicians. The regulation is part of a broader policy framework that Jewish leaders say systematically undermines their religious autonomy.

This is not the first time Belgium has targeted Jewish rituals. As WIN has previously reported, the country banned kosher slaughter in recent years—a prohibition upheld by the European Union’s highest court despite appeals from Orthodox Jewish groups. That precedent has deepened fears that traditional Jewish life is being legislated out of existence in the heart of Europe.

“There is a sense of unease within the Jewish community, and I am putting it mildly,” said Andre Gantman, a prominent Jewish leader and former member of Antwerp’s city council, in remarks cited by Belgian media and shared by WIN. “We are clearly being targeted. If they want to get rid of us, let them say so. There are other places where we can go.”

The response from Jewish leadership both in Belgium and abroad has been swift and pointed. Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, told the media—according to the WIN report—that the raids were not only disproportionate but constituted an intimidation campaign against traditional Jewish communities.

“The principles of democracy, child rights, law, or modern medicine are sadly being weaponized to assault this ancient Jewish practice,” Goldschmidt stated. “The heavy-handed approach of Antwerp’s police force, instead of an informed engagement with community leaders and experts, is an expression of this damaging weaponization in a physical way. Freedom of religion must apply to Jews too.”

Similarly, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association, warned that this incident represents a dangerous shift. “Any restriction on circumcision in Belgium would send a clear message to Belgian Jews that they are not welcome in the country,” Margolin told WIN. “The harassment of mohels represents a further red line and a clear warning sign to Belgian Jews and the Belgian government.”

Belgium’s Jewish community, estimated at around 30,000 individuals, is now grappling with what many see as a systematic erosion of their rights under the guise of public policy and health regulation. As the WIN report emphasized, this latest incident follows a string of measures—from kosher slaughter bans to threats against religious education—that have already driven a wedge between the Jewish community and Belgian authorities.

The lack of arrests in Wednesday’s raids does little to diminish the symbolism of the operation. For many, it is the clearest signal yet that Belgium’s once-tolerant stance toward religious minorities is shifting toward something far more adversarial, as was indicated in the WIN report. The mohels, seen not as criminals but as custodians of a millennia-old tradition, are now viewed by some in the legal system as violators of public health law.

The raids have not yet resulted in formal charges, but legal experts say further action could follow pending the outcome of the investigation. Meanwhile, Jewish leaders are urging Belgian officials to engage in dialogue rather than crackdown, and to respect the religious freedoms enshrined in European democratic principles.

The consensus from Jewish leaders remains clear: without a serious commitment from the Belgian government to uphold religious freedoms, the country risks alienating an entire community whose roots there date back centuries.

In the words of Andre Gantman, “If this is not a wake-up call, I don’t know what is.”