Circumcision Under Fire: Belgian Jews Stunned by Police Raids on Mohels 

Police raided the homes of several Jewish mohels in Antwerp’s Haredi community early this morning (Wednesday), confiscating circumcision knives and demanding lists of children circumcised in the past year, according to community sources.

The searches were conducted under court order. They targeted prominent mohels, including Rabbi Aharon Ekstein and Rabbi Moshe David Landau, escalating tensions over a year-old lawsuit challenging the religious practice of brit milah (ritual circumcision).

The raids began before dawn, with officers reportedly warning mohels to open their doors or face forced entry. “The police took all the knives and asked for records of circumcisions,” a source told Behadrei Haredim, a Haredi news outlet.

The operation is the direct result of a provocative lawsuit filed over a year ago by a Jewish individual, described by the community as having a history of antagonizing European Jewish groups. The plaintiff also targeted rabbis and rebbes, including the Rebbe of Pshevorsk and the late Rabbi David Moshe Lieberman, who served as sandaks (godfathers) at circumcisions.

The Haredi community was shocked, drawing parallels to historical European campaigns against brit milah, often masked as concerns for “child welfare” but really just more antisemitism.

Lawyers advised community leaders to avoid public confrontation with the plaintiff to minimize damage and preserve the tradition. No court ruling has been issued.

The lawsuit and raids have reignited debates over religious freedom in Europe, where circumcision has faced scrutiny. Antwerp’s Jewish community, is now bracing for legal battles to protect its rights to perform brit milah, which is central to Jewish identity.

UPDATE:

The European Jewish Association (EJA) strongly condemned the police raid on the homes of mohels in Antwerp, Belgium. EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin stated that this represents another red line crossed in the intimidation of Jewish religious figures in Belgium.

"Following the ban on ritual slaughter, the intimidation of mohels is a further crossing of a red line and a clear warning sign to Belgian Jews and the Belgian government," Rabbi Margolin said, emphasizing that "freedom of religion must be preserved! Any restriction, however small, on circumcision in Belgium will be a clear signal to Belgian Jews that they are not wanted in the country."

The EJA Chairman called on law enforcement authorities, decision-makers, the government, and members of parliament to urgently pass legislation affirming circumcision as part of the legally protected freedom of religion.

In a shocking development, this morning, investigators also conducted a house search the home of David Rosenberg, a district council member for Vlaams Belang in Antwerp. David Rosenberg is the son of well-known Jewish professor Henri Rosenberg, but here's where things got weird. David was a key figure in the television series Shalom Allemaal.

In one episode, a son of Rosenberg is shown being ritually circumcised. The prosecutor’s office emphasized that David Rosenberg is not a suspect in the investigation. The search at his home was aimed at gathering additional information about the practices of brit milah (ritual circumcision).

Behadrei and GVA (Gazet Van Antwerpen) contributed to this article.