Despite the fact that the battle was won, the conflict continues. The Brussels parliament overwhelmingly voted against a bill prohibiting kosher slaughter in the capital’s region on Friday.
The dramatic vote involved 88 of the 89 members of parliament, with 42 voting against the ban and 38 voting in support. Despite this, kosher slaughter is still forbidden in the country’s two largest provinces, Wallonia and Flanders. A petition by the Jewish community against the decision of the parliaments in these two districts was rejected by the Belgian Constitutional Court about ten months ago, noting that “the decision on the issue of eligibility for slaughter is legitimate and not adverse to the Belgian constitution.”
Avraham Gigi was hailed by Belgium’s Chief Rabbi yesterday. He said that the outcome of the vote in the Brussels parliament was “unprecedented.” “The outcomes demonstrate that our strength is in our unity. We will continue to battle against the anti-Semitic decision to prohibit kosher slaughter in the remaining two districts.” “We also anticipate the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to aid us.”
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the European Rabbinical Conference “Brussels MPs have delivered a strong message about the treatment of Jews and their future,” he went on to say.