The long-simmering controversy over whether mohels can perform ritual circumcisions in Belgium broke dramatically into international public view this week, over a case involving the prosecution of three mohels.

The controversy, which touches on sensitive religious, legal and diplomatic matters, has ensnared the only Jewish lawmaker in Belgium, Michael Freilich, as well as the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, who accused the country of antisemitism over the legal action. And it stretches from Antwerp, home to a large Orthodox Jewish community, to Washington, to Jerusalem, where Israel’s foreign minister has weighed in.

In an X post on Monday addressed to Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke:, White wrote: “You must make a legal provision to allow Jewish religious MOHELS to perform their duties here in Belgium. It’s done in all civilized counties as legal procedure. … Stop this unacceptable harassment of the Jewish community here.” He then received a reprimand from Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, saying White’s interference in a judicial matter was a breach of diplomatic norms.

But much of the fallout landed on Freilich, who is Orthodox. It comes after Belgian police arrested the mohels, Jewish religious authorities who conduct circumcisions, during a series of raids last May in Antwerp, home to a large Orthodox Jewish community. The individuals have been charged with performing a medical procedure without a license.

While Brussels has not specifically outlawed ritual circumcision, it requires a doctor to perform the procedure. There are no mohels who are also doctors in Belgium, a source close to Freilich told Jewish Insider, and Jewish law requires a mohel to be Jewish. Muslims have no requirement for ritual circumcision to be performed by a coreligionist.

Freilich has become the target of accusations from his fellow lawmakers, in light of a recent interview to a Yiddish-language newspaper Der Yid, in which he recounted raising the matter at a roundtable discussion with members of Congress during a visit to Washington.

Belgium’s Green Party demanded an ethical investigation into Freilich. Sammy Mahdi, the head of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party, said Freilich’s behavior was “totally inappropriate” and compared it to a “member of parliament with a Muslim background lobbying in Morocco or Qatar to influence a court case in Belgium.” 

Freilich, for his part, has said he was not looking for the U.S. to pressure Brussels, but rather support for his effort to institute regulations that would balance freedom of religion and medical standards by allowing Belgian mohels to receive government-recognized certification without being doctors.

Germany, Sweden and the U.K. have such laws; Israel also requires mohels be certified, and Israeli Chief Rabbi Kalman Bar recently suggested that the EU recognize mohels ordained in the Jewish state to resolve any legal issues.

Vandenbroucke has declined to meet with Freilich on the matter, the source said. White wrote that Vandenbroucke plans to do nothing and that his “sneaky tactic” is to wait for the mohels’ trial to end without confronting the matter. 

Freilich and his party have been instructed not to speak to the media, but a source close to the lawmaker told Jewish Insider, “We need a dialogue with the minister, but he has been refusing. That is why the ambassador was upset and said the only reason [Vandenbroucke] could be doing this is that he is an antisemite and doesn’t want a solution.” 

The source compared the backlash against Belgium’s sole Jewish legislator to the persecution of Alfred Dreyfus, the French military officer jailed for false treason charges at the turn of the 20th century.

Freilich is “not speaking against the state, he is reaching out his hand to find a solution, and being accused of disloyalty to his own country,” the source said. “He is uniquely placed as the only Jewish MP, and understands the necessities for the Jewish community but also the necessity of addressing questions raised by the public at large … which needs a high-level of hygiene and medicine.”

In his initial controversial post, White also said that Vandenbroucke refused to shake his hand “because it was clear that [Vandenbroucke] dislike[s] America, the country that fought and where tens of thousands of our nation’s sons died for Belgium’s freedom twice — in WWI & in WWII.”

Prévot said that White’s “personal attacks” against Vandenbroucke are unacceptable and that “any suggestion that Belgium is antisemitic is false, offensive and unacceptable. … The fight against antisemitism, and all forms of hatred and discrimination, is an absolute priority for our country.” 

“Belgian law permits ritual circumcision when performed by a qualified physician under strict health and safety standards. The specific case referenced is subject to a judicial investigation. I refrain from commenting on ongoing proceedings,” he added.

White doubled down and said the matter is “absolutely a case of antisemitism. You either have to make a change to the procedural accreditation, or you have to call prosecution of these three beautiful, religiously qualified, and wonderful men antisemitic. No other way around it!” 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar weighed in, noting a sharp increase in antisemitic attacks in Belgium over more than five years and citing an Anti-Defamation League study that found antisemitism is two to three times more common in Belgium than in other European countries.

“Suddenly, after thousands of years of Brit Milah being performed, the Mohel community is being targeted,” Sa’ar added. “Dear Minister, I understand that the mirror Ambassador Bill White has held up to you is unpleasant, but one might want to take this opportunity to take a hard look in that mirror and acknowledge reality.” 

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the chief rabbi of the Conference of European rabbis, said that “circumcision and kosher slaughter are not optional customs; they are core obligations, absolutely central to Jewish life. Efforts to restrict them in Belgium are not fair regulatory processes, but are direct attacks on Jewish religious rights. A country that cannot allow Jews the right to live fully Jewish lives is oppressing its Jewish citizens and violating its democratic principles.”

Belgium has long been one of the European countries most hostile to Israel. It joined South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in December, joining Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, Mexico, Spain and Turkey. Last month, Prévot announced a ban on weapons exports to Israel, and Israeli military flights were also banned from Belgian airspace. 

Sa’ar noted, “Jewish Belgian citizens living in Judea and Samaria are denied consular services, while Belgian Muslims are welcomed,” referring to a recent decision to no longer have the Belgian Embassy in Israel and consulate in Jerusalem serve Belgian-Israelis residing in the West Bank, such that they cannot receive birth certificates or passports or vote, while no changes have been made for Belgian Palestinians. 

In addition, Belgium is one of only four countries in the 27-state European Union that does not have a national plan and coordinator to combat antisemitism.