The legal battle surrounding two veteran mohelim in Antwerp took another turn after Belgium’s Court of Appeals postponed a decision on whether to bring them to trial, following a request by the complainant for additional investigative steps and new evidence to be examined.

The case centers on two mohelim accused of performing circumcisions on 98 infant boys without authorization from the public health system between December 2023 and March 2025. Prosecutors are seeking to bring the men to trial on allegations of assault, causing bodily harm to minors, and engaging in the unauthorized practice of medicine.

Earlier in the investigation, authorities had also considered charges related to violence against minors. However, the public prosecutor’s office later dropped those allegations, citing insufficient evidence. The complaint that triggered the investigation was filed by a man who was once part of Antwerp’s Jewish community and claimed that the circumcisions were being performed in violation of Belgian health regulations.

The probe into the mohelim began in October 2024. During the investigation, authorities reportedly monitored their telephone conversations, reviewed emails, examined financial records, and conducted a number of searches connected to the Jewish community.

The two mohelim declined to answer investigators’ questions regarding the circumcisions themselves. Instead, both submitted identical written statements asserting that bris milah is an ancient religious and cultural practice observed throughout the world and cannot be classified as a medical procedure.

The matter has now been returned to the investigating judge, who must determine whether the requests for additional investigative measures are relevant and should be carried out before the case proceeds further.

The defendants are 76-year-old Rabbi Aharon Eckstein and 47-year-old Rabbi Dovid Moshe Landau, both highly experienced mohelim who are well known in Jewish communities across Europe. Prosecutors allege that they performed dozens of circumcisions on eight-day-old infants during the period covered by the investigation and are seeking to charge them with intentional assault, bodily injury, and the illegal practice of medicine.

A ruling on whether the case will move to trial has now been postponed indefinitely after the complainant submitted a request seeking further investigation. He claims to possess additional evidence against the mohelim and is demanding that authorities question several individuals whom he alleges are involved in coordinating circumcisions within the Jewish community.

At the same time, the two mohelim have filed their own petition challenging the complaints against them, arguing that the allegations are baseless. That petition will be addressed before any decision is made regarding possible criminal charges.

The case has generated significant concern within Antwerp’s Jewish community and has revived memories of previous European campaigns targeting bris milah. Community members and advocates have long argued that efforts to restrict circumcision under the banner of protecting children have, in some instances, been driven by hostility toward Jewish religious practice and attempts to limit the ability of Jews to observe their faith.

{Matzav.com}