RCA Protests EU’s Ban on Shechitah Without Stunning

December 28, 2020 – The Rabbinical Council of America, North America’s leading membership organization of orthodox rabbis in North America, strongly protests the European Union Court of Justice’s decision to uphold a ban on kosher and hallal slaughter in Belgium which upholds a Flemish decision to require the use of stunning for livestock on the grounds of animal rights.

Rabbi Daniel Korobkin, president of the RCA, said, “The Court’s decision requiring stunning of animals before ritual slaughter violates the religious rights of Muslims and Jews, a violation of our respective religious laws. We share the concern expressed by Yohan Benizri, president of the Belgian Jewish CCOJB, that ‘Europe no longer protects religious minorities.’ Against the backdrop of rising incidents of antisemitism, murderous terror attacks, and discrimination against Jews, this decision places an arduous burden on a small and vulnerable Jewish community.” 

Rabbi Binyamin Blau, vice president of the RCA, said, “Jewish law places humane and sensitive treatment of animals as a high value, especially during the ritual slaughter process. We call on the members of EU to reconsider this requirement which effectively bans shechitah and support the efforts of the Jewish communities of Europe to preserve our traditional practices and to protect the interests of their members.”