The Conference of European Rabbis is the primary rabbinical alliance in Europe, bringing together for more than 700 religious leaders of the mainstream synagogue communities in Europe.
ASTERDAM — Centrist parties in Europe are following extremist ones in their fight to ban religious freedoms, President of the Conference of European Rabbis Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt warned Monday on the first day of the organization’s three-day biennial convention in the Dutch capital, which drew over 250 chief rabbis and rabbis from across the continent.
Speaking the day after Marine Le Pen’s landslide defeat in France, Goldschmidt said “There was a time when we could all recognize who was antisemitic. They were from the far-right or the far-left. In recent elections these groups have suffered significant losses; Le Pen in France, Wilders here in the Netherlands and UKIP in the UK. The problem now is that centrist parties are adopting these policies to attract voters.”
Goldschmidt referred to two decisions in recent days which if enacted would restrict religious practices of both local Jews and Muslims: a unanimous vote in Belgium’s Wallonia region Friday to ban religious slaughter, and another by Norway’s Progress Party a day later in favor of a ban on religious circumcision of boys under the age of 16.
“Centrist parties are taking the stances of the extreme parties and I think we can all agree that we are at the start of a fight for the future of Europe,” he added, stating that the implementation of such bans would pose a major threat to the continuity of organized Judaism in Europe.
Chief Rabbi of France Haim Korsia shared in this concern, saying that while he had rejoiced in Emmanuel Macron’s victory, a third of the country had voted for a candidate that want to ban religious slaughter and wearing a kippa on the street. “It’s against Jews and it’s also against France,” he said, stressing the importance of unity in the face of such challenges, including working together with the Muslim community.
Delivering the keynote address at the opening session, Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth Ephraim Mirvis emphasized the role of rabbis to convey the positivity of the Jewish faith. “Today there are many secular and atheist people who hate religion,” he stated, giving the reasons that some feel uncomfortable with it and don’t see a place for it in modern society. “But another reason is because they see that religion causes war,” he continued. “it’s up to us to show as rabbis that it’s not like that with us – that religion brings happiness and meaning to life.”
Mirvis and his Ukrainian counterpart Chief Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich also emphasized the importance of strengthening Jewish education to counter assimilation. “As rabbis of communities we need to also run after the Jews who don’t come to shul,” Mirvis added, as the pair also discussed the importance of outreach to unaffiliated Jews.
The Conference of European Rabbis is the primary rabbinical alliance in Europe, bringing together for more than 700 religious leaders of the mainstream synagogue communities in Europe. The conference was established in 1956 to rebuild Jewish communities on the continent in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Today, it acts to maintain and defend the religious rights of Jews in Europe.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post