The Progress Party in Norway, one of the two ruling parties, has voted in favor of a law banning ritual circumcision of children under the age of 16, a day after the Environment Committee of the Parliament of Wallonia, one of the regions of Begium, voted in favor of banning ritual slaughter of animals. The two votes are posing a threat to both Brit Mila, the Jewish circumcision of infant boys and shechita, the kosher slaughter, in Europe.

In Norway, the initiators of the Norwegian law to ban the circumcision claim that the practice constitutes a mental and physical harm for children and constitutes a serious violation of children's rights.

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, General Director of the European Jewish Association, a group representing thousands of Jews across Europe, wrote an urgent letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of the Diaspora Naftali Bennett in which he called on them to urgently establish a joint working team for both government offices and Jewish organizations in Europe, in order to prevent the spread of anti-Jewish legislations.

"I have no doubt that the State of Israel , which is the State of the Jewish people, cannot remain indifferent to it. I call on you to exert all your political influence in order to prevent the exclusion of Jews from life in various European countries, wrote Margolin in his letter. "

Regarding the Norwegian vote on circumcision, Rabbi Margolin noted that "we will act in every way we can to fight this disgraceful bill. There is no doubt that this is an anti-Jewish decision that is blatantly anti-Semitic, because the bill does not harm Muslims who are not obligated to circumcise their children as infants and can perform the procedure even at an older age as the bill allows. "

This is not the first-time Norwegian politicians have tried to ban circumcision throughout the country.

In 2013, the Norwegian Commissioner of Child Welfare, Anne Lindbo, called for a ban on circumcision in the country for the protection of child rights. The Norwegian Health Minister announced that his government was working to promote restrictions on circumcision in the country.

The initiative was halted following Rabbi Margolin's call to the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Health Minister urging them ‘’to decisively ensure freedom of religion.’’

Norwegian ministers pledged that the government had never contemplated a ban on circumcision in the country and never will.