A bill to ban shechitah could come up for a vote in the Dutch Senate
this week, though it is expected to be brought only for discussion at
this point. Ratification of the proposed law would carry widespread
ramifications for other European Union countries. Passage in one
country makes it more likely that others will follow suit.
Information and Diaspora Minister MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud), speaking
before a meeting of the Knesset to discuss the Dutch move, said the
bill was introduced by a small parliamentary party and was supported
even by parties that consistently back Israel. The legislation was
ostensibly intended to protect animal rights and not based on
antisemitic motives, although some of the backers may harbor
antisemitic motives.
He related the government's efforts to block this piece of
legislation, which is similar to an existing Norwegian law that
compels Jews to import their meat, adding that efforts to counter it
are being made in the European Parliament and the European Council, as
well as other organizations in which Israel has observers, delegations
and MKs who are involved. He also noted that Knesset members' efforts
to lobby their counterparts in the European Parliament and Holland can
be more useful than a phone call or a letter from the Prime Minister
or the Foreign Minister, because the bill was floated by members of
the Dutch parliament, not the Dutch government.
Nevertheless, the Foreign Minister will also do what he can to prevent
the bill from passing into law, said Edelstein, adding that he hopes
that the various diplomatic channels, in combination, will bear fruit
— not only in Holland, but also in New Zealand and Scandinavian
countries, where similar legislation is under consideration.
MK Rabbi Uri Maklev, addressing the Knesset meeting, stressed that
shechita is not some sort of ancient Jewish custom, but a fundamental
aspect of Judaism that has been a central part of Jewish life since
time immemorial. Throughout the 350 years during which Jews have lived
in the Netherlands, community life was based on the local shochet, the
rabbi who ruled on the shechita, etc.
"If there is no kosher shechita, Jews cannot eat meat," he said. "Just
as no community can form and survive without water, and cannot rely on
imported water, likewise every place, every Jewish community that
lacks shechita does not have sustainable communal life and it cannot
survive."
