ד׳ אב ה׳תשפ״ו | July 17, 2026

Rabbis of Muslim Countries Welcomed at the European Union

At the invitation of the European Union leadership, the Union of Rabbis in Muslim Countries held a historic conference in Brussels, with the participation of rabbonim and shluchim from numerous Muslim countries

By Anash.org reporter

At the invitation of the European Union leadership, the Union of Rabbis in Muslim Countries held a historic conference in Brussels, the capital of the European Union, with the participation of rabbonim and shluchim from numerous Muslim countries, including Iran’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yehuda Gerami.

Also participating were senior EU officials and representatives from various organizations. A highlight of the gathering was a session of the Union’s executive committee held inside the European Parliament building itself, where the rabbis met with senior European Union officials and raised the many challenges facing Jewish communities around the world.

Among the participants were Nikolay Mladenov, Director General of President Trump’s Peace Council, and Aryeh Lightstone, also from the Peace Council.

EU officials expressed interest in the state of religious freedom available to Jewish communities, with particular focus on the Jewish community in Iran, which numbers approximately 20,000 people.

The rabbis discussed ideas for improving kosher certification systems, mikvahs, Jewish marriage services, and Jewish burial arrangements across large Jewish communities in Muslim countries. They exchanged information and offered advice to one another on a wide range of important issues.

EU officials assured the rabbis that they would address these matters and added that they are welcome to contact them at any time regarding Jewish communal concerns.

Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life in Europe, also participated in the conference. She spoke about the current situation in Europe regarding antisemitism and emphasized that the EU is committed to combating every act of antisemitism.

She shared that, as a child growing up in Germany, she learned from Holocaust survivors about Germany’s tragic history during World War II. This inspired her to work on behalf of Holocaust survivors and to ensure that younger generations learn this history. She said her door is always open to requests from Jewish communities and distributed a special yarlmuka featuring the European Union symbol to participants, promising that she would do everything possible to ensure that Jews can walk the streets of Europe wearing a kippah on their heads.

The rabbonim and shluchim also presented a special commemorative gift to the senior EU officials who attended the historic gathering, on behalf of the Union of Rabbis in Muslim Countries.

EU Vice President Dubravka Suica praised the rabbis, saying:

“I was once the mayor of Dubrovnik, Croatia. The city has a small synagogue, one of the oldest in Europe that is still actively in use. Sephardic Jews built it after they were expelled from Spain more than 500 years ago.

“It survived an earthquake. It survived a world war. It survived the siege of my city in the 1990s. And it is still there today, still open, and people are still praying there. That synagogue is proof that a place is stronger when every religion is free to live and thrive. That is exactly what you represent.

“Every day, you show that Jewish life can coexist with a Muslim majority and that people can live together. In some of your communities, they have existed together for centuries. That is something precious.

“We cannot accept discrimination, persecution, or violence anywhere, against any minority. We are equally committed to these values at home. I want to raise my voice whenever your communities are threatened.”

Among the rabbis who participated were Iran’s Chief Rabbi Rabbi Yehuda Gerami; Kazakhstan’s Chief Rabbi Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen; Kyrgyzstan’s Chief Rabbi Rabbi Aryeh Reichman; Nigeria’s Chief Rabbi Rabbi Yisroel Uzan; Albania’s Chief Rabbi Rabbi Yoel Kaplan; Gibraltar’s Chief Rabbi Rabbi Ron Hassid; Azerbaijan’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Rabbi Shneur Segal; Tunisian rabbis Rabbi Amram Pinchas and Rabbi Binyamin Hattab; Moroccan Rabbi Levi Banon; Tanzania’s Chief Rabbi Rabbi Shimi Haziza; Brussels Chief Rabbi Rabbi Albert Guigui; Brussels rabbis Rabbi Pinson and Rabbi Haddad; Rabbi Menachem Margolin, head of the European Jewish Association; Rabbi Levi Matusov, EU rabbi; and Rabbi Menachem Samama, rabbi of the Council of Europe.