| | NEWS
Norway Easing Up on Anti-Shechita Propaganda in Europe
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
The bi-annual conference of the Council of Rabbis in Europe, meeting in Oslo, Norway, concluded its sessions the weekend of 20 Iyar. After having dealt with a variety of current topics on the agenda of European Jewry, the participating rabbonim went on a round of tours to meet and strengthen the Jewish community and its institutions. The conference was attended by rabbis from France, Germany, Britain, Holland, Belgium, Ukraine, Switzerland, Italy and Sweden, and was chaired by the Council's president and chairman, Rav and Av Beis Din of Moscow, HaRav Pinchas Goldschmidt. The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Baroso, sent a special deputy to the conference.
The ambiance at the conference in Oslo was that of uncertainty and anxiety over many crucial subjects, including the campaign against shechita in several European countries; the upsurge of anti-Semitic incidents; anti-Israel propaganda and the rise of extreme rightist parties in many European countries. The rabbonim were briefed on the Council's activities regarding shechita in Holland and France; a strong stand on religious principles in Amsterdam; activities of the Beis Din d'Europe, headed by Av Beis Din HaRav Chanoch Ehrentreu; the Council's activities in face of the threatened ban on bris milah, and actions taken by the Chuliya organization, as well as activities by the Council's representatives in Brussels representing Jewish interests in the various institutions of the European Union.
The mayor of Oslo, Fabian Stang, told the rabbis that in the wake of a survey made by the municipality among children and youth regarding anti-Semitism, a special curriculum was prepared for the schools acquainting the children with Judaism, the Holocaust, and deflecting anti-Semitism.
"We learned from the survey that the main problem is ignorance and lack of information. We hope to bridge the gaps and thereby create a qualitative society devoid of bigotry and prejudice, and subsequently, of anti-Semitic acts."
Catherine von Schonbein, representative of the European Commission to the conference, appointed over religious affairs by the president, said that the European Commission would continue to work to deflect the various proposals to ban kosher shechita in Europe. She read a letter sent to the conference by the president of the European Commission, Boroso, promising to counteract against any display of anti-Semitism on the continent and to protect religious rights. He praised the collaboration between the Council of European Rabbis and the institutions of the EU.
|
