Two summers ago, during the initial Iran conflict, I turned down an international bris for the first time. This is uncharacteristic of a mohel. However, the war was not the reason I declined to go. At the time, my wife was also traveling, and there was an issue of who would watch the children for the 36 hours I was meant to be gone. But that’s also not what stopped me.
I turned it down because I didn’t want to get arrested.
A London-based mohel had been detained in Ireland for practicing his craft. The news shocked the Jewish community because it was a first of its kind since the era of Nazi Germany. The research I did into where I was headed gave me no comfort that I wouldn’t end up with the same fate. No one had ever been arrested there, but that was no guarantee it couldn’t happen. I wasn’t sure I’d travel to perform a brit milah again.
Things subsequently calmed down, and I agreed to travel for work once again. When families in Europe were in touch, I heeded the call, although with a bit of unease. At present, the case in Ireland has not gone to trial, and it was the hope of many that the delay was an indication that it would never occur. It seemed like the worst was behind us.
Belgium changed all that.
The case began in May of 2025 when Moshe (“Aryeh”) Friedman, a controversial figure in the area, reported six mohalim, claiming that they were endangering the lives of newborns by performing metzitzah b’peh (direct oral suction), a contentious practice even in the Jewish community. However, both Rabbi Aaron Eckstein (one of the named mohalim) and several families he worked with all confirm that he does not perform the custom.
Friedman has been stirring up controversy in the community for years. Belgian Parliament member Michael Freilich described him as “a known Holocaust denier, a serial liar and a close associate of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who openly called for Israel’s erasure from the map.” Friedman’s “whistle-blowing” prompted the police to raid the homes of the practitioners, confiscate their tools and demand a list of the babies they circumcised in the previous year.
The fallout has been a political firestorm.
The American ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, publicly criticized the actions as antisemitic, demanding that the charges be dropped. More recently, the Federal Ethics Committee censured Freilich, the lone Jewish Parliament member, for his role in working to secure legal protection for the rite. All of this culminated in the recent indictment of three of the mohalim on charges of “intentional assault or bodily harm with premeditation against minors, as well as the illegal practice of medicine.”
Leaders, both Jewish and non-Jewish, have roundly condemned the indictments as an attack on basic Jewish practice and freedom of religion. Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association, also labeled the prosecution antisemitic in nature and warned that Jews should prepare to leave Belgium.
Although Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart de Wever voiced his support of the Jewish community, saying “if there’s no space for Jews in Antwerp, there is no space for me, either,” he stopped short of criticizing the indictments. His attempts at formulating a legislative compromise have been blocked by members of his own party and coalition partners alike.
The Belgian officials pressing forward, despite international pressure, contend that they are merely responding to a complaint from within the Jewish community, while ignoring the controversial nature of the instigator and the fact that his claims seem to be unfounded.
Many are concerned that this case will lead to a blanket prohibition of brit milah in Belgium, which could easily spread to other parts of Europe. Places like Iceland, Norway, Denmark and even England have had attempted bans on the ballot in the recent past.
And now, none of this is theoretical. Following Belgium’s precedent, both Austria and Switzerland have opened probes into brit milah. This atmosphere mirrors the lead-up to bans on the ritual kosher slaughter of animals, which have long been on the books in the region.
No matter the excuse for the present situation, what’s certain is that Europe is ignoring its history. Just one week before the indictment announcement, four plaques were unveiled at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, apologizing for the execution and expulsion of the Brussels Jewish community on false antisemitic accusations 650 years beforehand. The plaques were installed below the stained-glass windows depicting the violence that occurred.
It is a staggering irony: the church apologizing for past expulsions while the state lays the groundwork for a new one.
The answer to this problem requires a recognition of the past while planning for the future.
Belgium, a country that struggles with the intersection of religious practice in a secular society, needs to develop protections for brit milah. Other areas in Europe with a similar dynamic have adopted either the German or Nordic Method to preserve the rite in the safest way possible. The German model requires that a trained mohel perform the ritual according to medical standards. The Nordic model additionally requires the presence of a medical practitioner during the procedure. Both are compromises, preserving the ritual without criminalizing the act.
The result of these indictments, if taken to trial, will stretch far beyond halting traveling mohalim like me from visiting Europe to help those in need. This case could change the Jewish landscape in the region.
Whatever excuses officials hide behind, an attack on the core tenets of Judaism is once again a call for expulsion. Just as Belgium initiated this trend, it must now lead the way in rectifying it, swiftly reversing course before Europe becomes Judenrein.
