”His statements must under no circumstances be presented as reflecting the views of ‘the Jewish community’ or ‘the rabbis of Belgium,’ the organizations said.
In a statement, the U.S. embassy in Brussels echoed the Belgian Jewish organizations clarification regarding Friedman.‘’Mr. Friedman has no mandate whatsoever to speak on behalf of the Jewish community; he speaks only for himself.”
By Yossi Lempkowicz
Four Jewish organizations in Belgium have issued a joint statement this week stressing that Moshe Friedman, a controversial person in Antwerp who presents himself as a rabbi “does not represent any of our organizations,” “does not lead any recognized synagogue or community,” and “does not hold any recognized rabbinical position within Belgium’s official Jewish community.”
The European Jewish Association (EJA), the Forum of Jewish Organizations (FJO), the Jewish Information and Documentation Center (JID) and the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations in Belgium (CCOJB) stated that ‘’the fact that he regularly presents himself in the media as a ‘rabbi’ or even a ’chief rabbi’ does not alter these facts. ‘’He speaks solely on his own behalf. His statements must under no circumstances be presented as reflecting the views of ‘the Jewish community’ or ‘the rabbis of Belgium,’” the statement added.
Friedman, who is anti-Zionist activist from New York who lives in Antwerp and participated in Tehran in a conference gathering Holocaust deniers, introduced three years ago a complaint against circumcision being performed ‘’without legal approval’’. This led the Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office to request that two mohels) be referred to criminal court on charges of “premeditated assault and battery on minors” and “unlawful practice of medicine.”
Belgian an European Jewish leaders responded that prosecuting mohels was “antisemitic in nature, reminiscent of efforts taken in Europe against Jewish practice prior to the Second World War.”They also consider this action as an attack on freedom of religion in Europe.
Friedman recently made again headlines by filing a complaint against U.S. President Donald Trump. According to him, a gift from the Antwerp diamond sector was used to exert pressure on the Belgian investigation into ritual circumcisions. The gift in question is reportedly a ring set with 321 diamonds and 75 other gemstones. It was presented in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
U.S. Ambassador to Begiulm, Bill White, who has sharply criticized the prosecution of the mohels, lashed out at Friedman in a statement last month. According to the ambassador, Friedman ”is not a rabbi, but a fraud.” “It’s not about Friedman having different political views. Everyone has the right to criticize Israel or Belgium,” White said. “The problem is that he presents himself to journalists, politicians, and government agencies as an authoritative rabbinical or Jewish voice, even though no recognized Jewish institution has ever granted him such a mandate.”
In a statement published on Thursday, the U.S. embassy in Brussels echoed the Belgian Jewish organizations clarification regarding Friedman and also referred to former Vienna chief rabbi Chaim Eisenberg, who “has clarified that he never verified or endorsed Mr. Friedman’s rabbinical credentials, ordination or status.”
”There is no ambiguity: Mr. Friedman has no mandate whatsoever to speak on behalf of the Jewish community; he speaks only for himself. I strongly urge journalists, politicians, and public institutions to stop attributing to him a religious or representative authority that he does not possess,” the U.S. embassy statement reads.
”His self-assigned titles should not be repeated as established fact, and any statements he makes must not be presented as reflecting the views of Belgium’s rabbis or the Jewish community. His lies and Holocaust denial create Antisemitism and harms the Jewish people,” the embassy adds.
In Belgium, rabbis are normally recognized by the Central Jewish Consistory, which is the official representative body of Jewish religious worship recognized by the Belgian government. Friedman is not registered there as a rabbi.
The Brussels-based Rabbinical Center of Europe (RCE), one of Europe’s leading rabbinical organizations representing more than 800 rabbis and Jewish communities across the continent, has decided to convene ‘’an independent and duly qualified Beth Din (Rabbinical Court) to examine, in accordance with Halacha (Jewish law) and on the basis of the evidence presented before it, whether Mr. Friedman’s conduct is consistent with the responsibilities and standards expected of one who publicly presents himself as a rabbi.’’
Yossi Lempkowicz is chief editor of European Jewish Press.