by Chana Ya'ar
Dutch Jews are beginning to wonder what's coming next after the lower house of the Netherlands parliament voted Tuesday to approve a ban on ritual slaughter of animals for kosher and halal meat. The bill, sponsored by the country's Animal Rights Party, stipulates that livestock must be stunned before slaughter.
In Jewish law, meat must by prepared through ritual slaughter before it can be declared kosher. Likewise, Islam requires similar procedures for halal meat but does not prohibit slaughter after stunning. A possible loophole in the new law – which has yet to pass the upper house of the parliament -- allows religious groups to continue the practice of ritual slaughter, if they can prove it is no more painful than stunning.
According to Netherlands Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, many Jews have called to ask what the future holds, given the fact that such a law could pass.
“Old people are scared, and young people who are just married are calling me to ask if they should stay here. Today it is the shechita and tomorrow, what? Circumcision? People are afraid,” Jacobs told the Reuters news agency.
Read the rest of this article on: Arutz7
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