US Ambassador to Belgium Bill White has called on the country to drop all investigations against three mohels (individuals who perform circumcision) arrested last summer in a raid, calling the case antisemitic in a sharply worded post on X.
In May, police in Antwerp rounded up mohels suspected of illegally conducting the ritual Jewish circumcisions. Officials conducted early morning raids on three locations in Antwerp’s Jewish Quarter and nearby Green Quarter seeking knives and other equipment used in circumcisions, according to reports at the time.
Three mohels have been charged for performing a medical intervention without a medical license, and prosecutors now believe they have enough evidence to get a conviction, Belgian MP Michael Freilich, the country’s only Orthodox Jewish lawmaker, told The Times of Israel. A trial date has not yet been set, he said, noting it may take several months to do so.
So necessary question: who performs circumcisions in the Muslim population? I know that most will just go to a paediatrician who does them but are there also specialized equivalents to mohels?
ReplyDeleteBecause if there isn't and all Muslim circumcisions are performed by doctors, then Belgium just figured out a way to ban most Jewish circumcisions without it affect their Muslim population.