MJLC dismayed at the decision of the European Court of Justice to support the ban on ritual slaughtering for the Jewish and Muslim citizens in the Flanders and Wallonian regions of Belgium

4th January 2021

The decision of the European Court of Justice in Luxemburg on the 17th December last in support of the ban on ritual slaughtering for the Jewish and Muslim citizens in the Flanders and Wallonian regions of Belgium will bear great consequences for our entire communities in all member states of the European Union.

The court’s ruling gives room for each of the member states to discontinue allowing slaughtering without pre-stunning on the grounds that such a ban is not an infringement on freedom of religion. The European Muslim and Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC) will oppose this ban jointly with all other organizations across Europe who stand for protection of religious rights.

Entirely through the history of Europe a ban on Shechita and now on Halal, slaughtering of cattle and fowls for Jews and Muslims, has always related to negative sentiments towards our religions and its members. Even recent attempts to ban Shechita and Halal in 2012 in Holland have shown such views. European leaders have stated repeatedly over the years that Jews and Muslims form an indispensable part of the European society. They should feel safe and wanted.

The MJLC calls upon the European leadership to reconsider sincerely, without any reservation, the present definition of freedom of religion in such a way that religious life can blossom within our communities without these types of discriminatory restrictions which are now hovering above the Jewish and Muslim society of Europe.

Vienna, 4 th December 2020/ 20 Jumada I-Ula 1442/ 20 Tevet 5781

The European Muslim Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC)

The MJLC Shechita/Halal committee

Information Tel +43 664 303 2926 lbvdk@rabbiscer.org

The European Muslim and Jewish Leadership Council was founded in the Austrian capital Vienna on the 12th December 2016 by fourteen European religious leaders – 7 Jewish and 7 Muslims- to serve the need, more urgent than ever in today’s Europe, to free religious people, and religions from prejudice, false claims, attacks, and violence. The mission of MJLC is to renew in Europe a culture of respect and appreciation of religious identities, specifically Judaism and Islam, beginning with the awareness of the essential patrimony which religious Traditions represent for every society and civilization.

The MJLC Shechita/Halal committee was established in Matera European Capital 2019, with special experience on the respect of healthcare for animals.

The MJLC is facilitated by KAICIID