Belgium summons US envoy over circumcision row

Belgium has summoned US Ambassador Bill White after he accused the authorities of harassing the Jewish community.

In a post on X on Monday, White called on Belgium to drop the prosecution of three mohels – Jewish religious figures who perform circumcisions – suspected of carrying out the procedures in Antwerp without a medical license.

“Stop this unacceptable harassment of the Jewish community here in Antwerp and in Belgium,” White wrote, adding that the mohels were “doing what they have been trained to do for thousands of years.”

White also accused Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke of being “very rude” and refusing to shake his hand or pose for a photograph during their first meeting. “It was clear that you dislike America,” White wrote.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot condemned White’s remarks. “Any suggestion that Belgium is antisemitic is false, offensive, and unacceptable. Belgium condemns antisemitism with the greatest firmness,” Prevot wrote on X.