11th July 2011
Further Destruction of Religious Freedom in Europe
Mark Hanson
The Dutch Parliament has now passed a bill that would seriously undermine religious freedom in the Netherlands.
The bill, introduced by the small Animal Rights Party, would in all likelihood outlaw the production of kosher and halal meat, traditional and religiously prescribed foods for Orthodox Jews and Muslims.
Whilst Animal Rights Party leader Marianne Thieme said that she was “completely confident that I can remove any concerns that still exist,” and that “this is absolutely not a religious issue,” Jewish and Muslim groups are fearful that they may have to leave Holland in order to continue practicing their faith.
The Anti-Defamation League condemned the vote in the lower house on the 26th June, with its national director, Abraham H. Foxman, calling it "a de facto ban on kosher slaughter" that "has repudiated the Netherlands' historic commitment to religious freedom."
The bill still has to be approved by the Senate before it becomes law, and leading Jewish groups have vowed to lobby hard for it to be blocked. It may also be unworkable due to a last-minute amendment. Yet a majority of the Dutch electorate support the ban, according to Haaretz, and only Christian parties opposed the bill outright.
A committee of Jews said:
“The Dutch Jewish community is small and the Jewish kosher meat consumption is smaller still, but the impact on our community is deep and large."
Older Jews are frightened and wonder what the next law will be that limits their religious life. The youth are openly asking whether they still have a future that they can or want to build in the Netherlands."
The Netherlands would follow Switzerland, the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, whose bans are mostly traceable to pre-World War II anti-Semitism. New Zealand has also recently brought in a ban.
The news comes after a number of attacks on religious liberty throughout Europe, especially the French ban on the Islamic veil.
