The Chief Rabbis of western Europe’s largest Jewish communities have called on the European Union to protect Jewish rights as the EU institutions prepare to bring in new legislation concerning animals at the time of slaughter.
At a meeting in London on Monday, Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Synagogues of the British Commonwealth and Associate President of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), and Chief Rabbi of France Gilles Bernheim, called on EU member states to protect shechita, and not seek to place Europe’s Jewish communities outside the pale.
“Shechita, the Jewish humane method of the slaughter of animals for food, has long been accepted as a fundamental right for Europe’s Jewish citizens. The acceptance of religious practices by minority cultures in society is one of the pillars upon which Europe preserves its liberal and democratic character,” Chief Rabbi Sacks said.
A draft regulation concerning animal slaughter methods was initially presented by the European Commission last year. If accepted at the Council of Ministers meeting in June, this could allow certain member states to forcibly require stunning of animals, effectively banning shechita in those countries.
“We call upon our national governments to protect the fundamental rights of their Jewish citizens,” Chief Rabbi Bernheim said.
“We are fortunate that our own governments are taking positive stands on this issue but in a Europe of 27 member states, the vote of all countries in support of Jewish rights is equally vital,“he added.
(Source: EJP)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
4 Responses
the picture shows a chicken. does that mean that they will have to stun chickens before Shechita
Chickens are “stunned” by electric shock or by gas inhalation. Cattle are usually “stunned” by having a metal bolt fired into their heads. The humane benefits of such methods are questionable for both kosher and non-kosher slaughter.’
this is ridiculous – the pain the animals feel is worse when they are stunned – the cut to the to simanim results in a quick loss of blood as well as a total hemorrage almost instantaneously, at least as good as a bolt to the head. gas inhallation would seem to cause far more suffering – honestly, these problems have ben cropping up by anti-semites using animal rights ideologies to support their anti-torah biases. there’s ample evidence of the effectivness and painlessness of shechita – these people just choose to not see the obvious. Like most deisions, it’s political – ive heard major professors of psychology say that politics influences a lot of their diagnostics, such as the removal of homosexuality as a diagnosable mental disorder a few decades ago – there is absolutely no scientific, or objective evidence to say that homosexuality is a mental condition or not(the fact that when acted upon it is the most egregious thing in the world, notwtihstanding. Many people have taivos to be murderers; doesnt make them reshoim or mentally ill) – it was completely toleh on politics.
it’s just amazeing that a million chicken live in terrible conditions and Eurpoe worries on how we kill them. Once again anti-semitism rears its head. I wonder how the arabs are going to kill their chickens.