Jewish Groups Open Mohel Training Program in Brussels Amid Pressure on Brit Milah

The European Jewish Association and the Rabbinical Centre of Europe have launched a new training and certification program for mohels in Brussels, as Jewish communities face increasing legal pressure over the practice of Brit Milah.

The Centre of Excellence for Religious Male Circumcision will provide mohels with advanced medical and safety training, practical assessments and professional certification. An international network of urologists, pediatricians, physicians and medical scientists will supervise the initiative.

Training will cover newborn assessment, hygiene and infection prevention, infant welfare, bleeding and wound care, identifying complications, emergency response, infant basic life support and aftercare. Participants will also learn when a case requires referral to a medical professional.

The organizations said they established the program in response to growing legal and political challenges facing Brit Milah in Belgium and other European countries.

The issue has become particularly acute in Belgium. Authorities searched the homes of three mohels in Antwerp in May 2025 and confiscated circumcision equipment. Prosecutors later charged the three with violating Belgian rules governing surgical procedures.

Belgian law does not explicitly prohibit circumcision, but authorities require surgical procedures to be performed by recognized medical professionals. The case against the Antwerp mohels triggered criticism from Israel and the United States, with officials accusing Belgian authorities of targeting Jewish religious practice.

The new Brussels program seeks to address those concerns by creating a professional framework that combines the religious requirements of Brit Milah with European medical and safety standards.

European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Oliver Várhelyi welcomed the initiative, saying Jewish religious practice has a place in Europe while also needing to meet European standards. He described the program as a credible model for achieving both goals.

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association and the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, said Jewish organizations needed to do more than fight restrictions through political and legal channels.

“Faced with growing challenges to the practice and, in particular, to the ability of trained mohels to perform it in parts of Europe, we decided that our response must go beyond defending our religious freedom,” Margolin told JNS.

He said the organizations aim to create the highest possible professional framework to protect the continued practice of Brit Milah.

European Jewish organizations have faced similar challenges before. In 2013, the Conference of European Rabbis established a European union of mohels to improve training and regulation following legal disputes over ritual circumcision in Germany and elsewhere on the continent.