Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Rav Kalman Meir Bar issued a sharply worded protest following a decision by authorities in Belgium to file charges against three mohalim, condemning the move as antisemitic and comparing it to historic persecutions.

In a formal letter, Rav Bar—who also serves as president of the Chief Rabbinate Council—strongly criticized the decision, underscoring the central importance of circumcision in Jewish life and calling on Belgian authorities to reverse course. “One of the defining markers of a Jew, wherever he may be, is the fact that he fulfills the divine command of ‘you shall circumcise every male.’ History teaches us how Jews in every generation and across the globe, since becoming a nation, have sacrificed themselves for this important mitzvah. I call on the authorities to reconsider this hasty step, to take into account the harm to Jewish communities around the world, and to withdraw this unprecedented prosecution—and the sooner the better.”

In his full letter, Rav Bar expressed deep shock at the development, writing, “I was shocked to hear that law enforcement authorities in Belgium have filed an indictment against three mohalim. Words are insufficient to express my dismay at this matter. It is deeply regrettable that this country is joining an unflattering list of those who wage war against Judaism—something that, by definition, is called antisemitism.”

He continued by emphasizing the historical and religious significance of circumcision, adding, “One of the defining markers of a Jew, wherever he may be, is the fact that he fulfills the divine command of ‘you shall circumcise every male.’ History teaches us how Jews in every generation and across the globe, since becoming a nation, have sacrificed themselves for this important mitzvah. This reminds us of one of the decrees imposed by Antiochus upon the Jews during the period of Hellenistic rule over the Land of Israel. This is a decree that outrages every Jewish soul, and the public will not remain silent in the face of such a phenomenon.”

Addressing claims that circumcisions could instead be performed by physicians rather than certified mohalim, Rav Bar rejected the argument outright. “The claim that circumcisions can be performed by doctors rather than trained mohalim, on the grounds that the latter are not qualified for surgical procedures, is fundamentally flawed. History shows that since the Jewish people became a nation—long before there was documentation of European populations—it has been the mohalim who circumcised Jewish children.”

He stressed that the practice is rooted in religious obligation rather than medicine, writing, “Circumcision is a mitzvah, not a surgical procedure, and there are halachic requirements that doctors are entirely unfamiliar with and do not meet for the fulfillment of this commandment.”

Rav Bar concluded with a renewed appeal to Belgian officials: “I call on the authorities to reconsider this hasty step, to take into account the harm to Jewish communities around the world, and to withdraw this unprecedented prosecution—and the sooner the better.”

He signed the letter, “On behalf of the right of the Jewish people to live everywhere according to their faith.”

{Matzav.com}