Moshe Aryeh Friedman said that a ring that Trump received from the Antwerp diamond industry on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the United States was used ‘’to exert political pressure on Belgium’’ in the ongoing investigation into ritual circumcisions performed by two mohalim, Jewish ritual circumcisers.

‘’ Friedman represents no recognized Jewish institution or community. He represents no one. He has no mandate from the Belgian Jewish community. He does not lead any recognized Jewish congregation or synagogue. He holds no official religious position in Belgium,” U.S. Ambassador Bill White stated.

The Brussels-based Rabbinical Centre of Europe,  one of Europe’s leading rabbinical organizations representing more than 800 rabbis and Jewish communities across the continent, issued an official clarification regarding   Friedman, stating that he ‘’is not a member of the organization, holds no position within it and is not recognized by the Centre as a rabbi or as a representative of the RCE or any of its affiliated communities or institutions.’’

The RCE 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.’’

U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, has lashed out at  Moshe Aryeh Friedman, an Antwerp controversial Jewish person who last week filed a complaint against President Donald Trump, Belgian media reported.

According to Friedman,  a ring that Trump received from the Antwerp diamond industry on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the United States was used ‘’to exert political pressure on Belgium’’ in the ongoing investigation into ritual circumcisions performed by two mohalim, Jewish ritual circumcisers, in Antwerp. He described it as ‘’a blatant case of corruption.’’

Ambassador White spoke of ‘’false accusations’’ and said that ‘’literally everything this con artist spouts is fake news.”

He stated that ‘’there is absolutely no connection between the ring President Trump received and U.S. support for the Jewish community in the lawsuit against the mohalim.’’

“There’s absolutely no connection. The ring was presented six, seven, or eight months after I began advocating for the mohalim. The ring was donated by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. That has absolutely nothing to do with the mohalim,’’ he said.

Earlier this year, the ambassador sparked a diplomatic row by accusing Belgium of antisemitism over the  investigation into Jewish ritual circumcision and the criminal prosecution of two mohalim for ”illegal practice of a medical act.”

The investigation has developed into one of the most serious recent disputes over Jewish religious freedom in Europe. It has included police searches of mohalim’s homes, the confiscation of circumcision instruments, demands for information about circumcised children and the proposed criminal proceedings against two ritual circumcisers. The Brit Milah, or circumcision, is  one of Judaism’s most fundamental commandments.”

“Attacking my president—who is one of the greatest living champions of the Jewish people—with false accusations will not be tolerated and will not go unpunished,” Bill White said.

‘Moshe Friedman represents no one’

In a statement on X, the ambassador stresses that ‘’Moshe Aryeh Friedman represents no recognized Jewish institution or community. He represents no one. He has no mandate from the Belgian Jewish community. He does not lead any recognized Jewish congregation or synagogue. He holds no official religious position in Belgium.’’

He referred to U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Yehuda Kaploun who said that ‘’it is shameful that a self-hating Jew who hates America, denies the Holocaust and shows solidarity with Iran is given even a shred of legitimacy. He has been discredited worldwide and no self-respecting Jewish community associates with him.”

‘’Freedom of the press does not require journalists to treat every self-appointed spokesperson as a credible representative. It does, however, require them to verify a person’s legitimacy, qualifications, and actual standing before presenting him as an authoritative Jewish or religious voice,’’ White added, in a reference to the fact that Friedman is described as a ‘’rabbi’’ by the media.

He called on the media, politicians, and the government to “accurately describe” Friedman: “Not as a representative of the Jewish community, not as an authoritative rabbinical spokesperson, but as an individual activist who speaks solely for himself.”

The Rabbinical Center of Europe distances itself from Friedman. ”He is not recognized as a rabbi.” 

On Monday, the Brussels-based Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE), one of Europe’s leading rabbinical organizations representing more than 800 rabbis and Jewish communities across the continent, also issued an official clarification regarding  Moshe Aryeh Friedman, stating that he ‘’is not a member of the organization, holds no position within it and is not recognized by the Centre as a rabbi or as a representative of the RCE or any of its affiliated communities or institutions.’’

The RCE addded : ‘’Accordingly, his views, public statements and actions are solely his own and should not be regarded as reflecting the positions of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, its affiliated rabbis, or the Jewish communities it represents.’’

The Council of Rabbis of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe includes Chief Rabbis and leading rabbinic authorities from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany and numerous other European countries, which makes the RCE one of the principal representative rabbinical bodies of European Jewry.

The RCE statement further noted that, according to a declaration issued by the Central Jewish Consistory of Belgium, ‘’Mr. Friedman does not hold a leadership position within Belgium’s Orthodox Jewish community, nor is he listed among the rabbis and officeholders officially recognized in Belgium.’’

The RCE said it ‘’unequivocally rejects the public positions promoted by Mr. Friedman over the years and considers them to be extreme and entirely unrepresentative of the rabbis and communities affiliated with the Centre.’’

The statement recalls Friedman’s participation in a conference organized  in Tehran in 2006 under the auspices of the Iranian regime that was widely condemned internationally for providing a platform for Holocaust denial and historical distortion.

‘’Participation in such an event, and the public legitimacy thereby afforded to it, constituted a grave and inappropriate act,’’ the RCE said.

Regarding the complaints filed by Friedman against the Antwerp mohalim, the RCE  expressed ‘’deep regret that political actors seeking to restrict or prohibit ritual circumcision have relied upon those complaints to argue, incorrectly, that such efforts are supported by the Jewish community or its recognized rabbinic leadership’’

‘’In light of Mr. Friedman’s conduct and public statements, particularly while presenting himself under the title “Rabbi,” the Rabbinical Centre of Europe 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.’’

The RCE said Friedman will be invited to appear before the Beth Din and will receive full notice of the matters under examination. ‘’He will be afforded a full and fair opportunity to present his position and any evidence he wishes to submit,’’ it said.

RCE Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, declared: “Anyone who presents himself as a rabbi or claims to speak on behalf of the Jewish community bears a profound responsibility toward that community and toward the truth. It is therefore our duty to make it unequivocally clear that Mr. Moshe Aryeh Friedman does not represent the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, does not represent Europe’s rabbis and does not represent the Jewish communities affiliated with our organization.’’

He stressed that the rabbinate ‘’is not a private title that may be invoked to lend institutional authority to personal opinions. For that reason, we have resolved to refer this matter to an independent Beth Din, which will examine it in accordance with Jewish law while ensuring Mr. Friedman a full and fair opportunity to present his case.”