A Belgian court has filed indictments against three Antwerp mohalim who were investigated last year after police raided their homes, confiscated their bris knives, and demanded records of the babies they had circumcised.

The case began with a police raid on Antwerp mohelim’s homes in May 2025, including the homes of well-known mohalim HaRav Aharon Eckstein and HaRav Moshe Landau. The mohelim were later charged over claims that they performed a medical procedure without a licensed physician present.

Jewish leaders say the issue is not that Belgium formally banned bris mila, but that the government never created a legal path for trained mohelim to receive certification, leaving Jewish families and mohalim exposed to prosecution for practicing one of the most basic mitzvos in Jewish life.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned the indictments on X, writing that “Belgium has just announced the indictment of the three Mohels who were investigated last year in Antwerp.”

“With this act, Belgium joins a short and shameful list, together with Ireland, of countries that use criminal law to prosecute Jews for practicing Judaism,” Sa’ar wrote. “This is a scarlet letter on Belgian society. The Brith Mila is the cornerstone of Jewish faith.”

Sa’ar said many countries in Europe and around the world have created legal frameworks to allow bris mila and protect Jewish religious freedom, and called on Belgium “to act immediately and to find a solution.”

US Ambassador to Belgium Bill White responded with a sharp public statement, saying the prosecution was a “shameful stain on Belgium.”

“The prosecution of these religious figures, mohels, one of whom is American, is WRONG and won’t be tolerated,” White wrote. “Belgium will be thought of now as anti-Semitic by the world. Until this is resolved, there is no way around it.”

White said the Trump administration “condemns this judicial action” and also condemns “the political inaction by the Belgium Government to find a solution with the beautiful Jewish communities here in Belgium.”

“We call upon the Belgium Government to work with the Jewish leaders and communities to find a certification solution immediately,” he wrote. “For the sake of Belgium’s reputation around the world, I hope the Belgian Government will act NOW.”

White added that further announcements would follow after meetings with the Belgian government.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot rejected Sa’ar’s criticism, claiming that Belgium’s judiciary is independent and that the proceedings had been initiated by representatives of the Jewish community. He called the accusations against Belgium “defamatory” and said religious freedom “has never been called into question and never will be” in the country.

Sa’ar replied that Prévot’s response “completely miss[ed] the point,” saying the investigation should never have been opened in the first place.

“There should never have been such an investigation, had the issue of Brit Milah been regulated like in other European countries that respect Jewish religious freedom,” Sa’ar wrote. “Especially so in a country with one of the oldest Jewish communities in Europe.”

The demand for a legal framework has become central to the fight. Jewish leaders have pointed to Germany, where the government passed legislation after a 2012 court ruling threatened religious circumcision, explicitly allowing trained mohelim to perform bris mila under regulated conditions. Other European countries have also created systems for recognition, oversight, or accreditation, while Belgium has left mohelim with no certification route to follow.

White had already blasted Belgium over the prosecution earlier this year, directly urging Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke to create a legal provision allowing mohalim to perform their duties.

“You must make a legal provision to allow Jewish religious MOHELS to perform their duties here in Belgium,” White wrote at the time. “It’s done in all civilized countries as legal procedure.”

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association, issued one of the strongest responses to the latest developments, calling the prosecution “antisemitic in nature” and warning that Jewish life in Belgium is becoming increasingly unsustainable.

“Another red line has been crossed,” Rabbi Margolin said. “This prosecution is antisemitic in nature. Not borderline, not ambiguous, but antisemitic.”

Responding to Prévot, Rabbi Margolin wrote that Belgian officials were already “disregarding our rights” and said the prosecution comes after Belgium banned kosher shechita in parts of the country.

“You and your colleagues in the government do not care about the Jews of Belgium. Period,” he wrote. “That is why kosher slaughter is banned in Belgium. Now circumcision is also being prohibited, and mohels are being accused with absurd baseless allegations.”

Rabbi Margolin warned that “the Jews of Belgium need to prepare to emigrate from the country” if the government forces them to choose between living as Jews and remaining in Belgium.

Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber also condemned the indictments, saying he was “shocked” that Belgian law enforcement authorities had filed charges against the three mohalim.

“It is deeply unfortunate that this country is joining the unflattering list of those carrying the banner of a war against Judaism, which is globally defined as antisemitism,” Rabbi Ber wrote in a letter sent to the Belgian embassy in Israel.

The case has now grown into a major diplomatic confrontation, with Israeli officials, American officials, and European Jewish leaders pressing Belgium to stop the prosecution and create a clear legal framework that allows trained mohalim to continue performing bris mila without fear of criminal charges.