‘’The European Court of Justice today delivered a potentially devastating ruling on an issue that has plagued European Jewry for years, the right to slaughter animals in the kosher tradition, a millennia old practice that puts animal welfare and minimizing animal suffering at its very core,’’ said the European Jewish Association (EJA), which represents Jewish communities across Europe.

EJA Chairman: “What a terrible message to send to European Jewry, that you and your practices are not welcome here. This is a basic denial of our rights as European citizens. We cannot let it stand and will pursue every recourse and avenue to ensure that it doesn’t and to protect the rights of Jews everywhere in Europe.’’

The ruling runs contrary to an opinion given in September by the European Court Advocate General who suggested the opposite.

“This is a sad day for European Jewry,’’ said Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the European Jewish Association (EJA) in a reaction to a ruling delivered on Thursday by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that requires pre-stunning of animals before slaughter.

In short, the ECJ, which is the highest court of the European Union in matters of EU law, said that individual member state moves to ban kosher slaughter by making stunning a prerequisite, do not in themselves violate the freedom of religion rights contained within the EU charter of Fundamental Rights.

The Luxembourg-based Court has ruled on a Belgian case, involving Flanders and Wallonia laws, which effectively banning shechita, the Jewish method of slaughter of animals for meat consumption by requiring pre-stunning of animals before slaughter.

The ruling runs contrary to an opinion given in September by the European Court Advocate General who suggested the opposite.

‘’The European court of Justice today delivered a potentially devastating ruling on an issue that has plagued European Jewry for years, the right to slaughter animals in the kosher tradition, a millennia old practice that puts animal welfare and minimizing animal suffering at its very core,’’ said the European Jewish Association, which represents Jewish communities across Europe.

Rabbi Margolin stated: ‘’For decades now, as animal rights have come into vogue, kosher slaughter has come under relentless attack and subject to repeated attempts to ban it. The entire basis of the attacks are built on the entirely bogus premise that kosher slaughter is more cruel than regular slaughtering, despite there being not a shred of evidence backing this up. And worse, it completely ignores the fact that kosher slaughter puts the welfare of the animal and minimising its suffering as of paramount importance. This is not a glib statement, but a commandment that all Jews must adhere to.’’

‘’Today’s ruling puts animal welfare above the fundamental right of freedom of religion. Simply put, beast takes preference over man,’’ he added.

‘’Potentially devastating too, it gives other European countries like Belgium – who similarly regard this fundamental charter freedom as ‘negotiable – the green light to follow suit. If every European country does it means only one thing: there will be no kosher meat available in Europe anymore,’’ said Rabbi Margolin.

He added: “What a terrible message to send to European Jewry, that you and your practices are not welcome here. This is a basic denial of our rights as European citizens. We cannot let it stand and will pursue every recourse and avenue to ensure that it doesn’t and to protect the rights of Jews everywhere in Europe.’’

Under freedom of religion, which is protected by the European Union as a human right, EU legislation allows exemption on religious grounds for non-stunned slaughter provided that they take place in authorised slaughterhouses.

Shechita, the religious method of slaughtering animals for producing kosher meat, requires they be conscious when their throats are slit by an extremely honed special knife which kills in seconds, a practice that advocates insist is more humane than mechanized methods used in non-kosher abattoirs.