The Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE) on Wednesday slammed a ruling by the Constitutional Court in Poland that shechitah, the Jewish ritual slaughter of animals, was "illegal."
“This ruling is unacceptable from a moral and ethical point of view,” said Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg, RCE’s Deputy Director, in a reaction to the ruling.
The Warsaw court’s ruling said the government had acted unconstitutionally when it exempted Jews and Muslims from stunning animals before slaughtering them according to their traditions.
Earlier this year, Polish animal rights organizations began protesting against shechitah, but Poland's Agriculture Minister said he will not bow to the activists and ban ritual slaughter in the country, adding that banning ritual slaughter would be contrary to the Polish Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion.
Polish President Bronisław Komorowski has also expressed support for European Jews’ right to kosher slaughter.
The RCE called on the Polish government to find a legal caveat "which will ensure the continuation of shechitah, which is such an important part of Jewish life in all over world and particularly in Poland."
"While it may not be their intention, those who seek to proscribe Jewish traditions in general and shechitah in particular are reminding the Jewish community of far darker times," Rabbi Goldberg said.
"We hope this issue will be resolved as soon as possible because it is sending an ominous message to the Jewish community (of Poland) which has managed to rebuild itself."
The RCE is an organization representing over 700 rabbis from across the continent which sees to the needs of European Jewish communities.
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), said:“This latest development in Poland is a deeply troubling challenge to a fundamental cornerstone of Jewish religious practice". "Yet we know from the CER’s most recent meeting with President, Bronisław Komorowski that the political will to protect shechita is there. Our challenge is to ensure that translates into a swift resolution of this constitutional confusion," he added.