The leadership of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) looks with alarm and utmost concern upon the decision of the Cologne (Germany) district court to view the circumcision of boys, traditional for Judaism and Islam, as a crime.

Freedom of faith implies the legitimacy of traditional religious practices as long as they do not contradict current legislation. And the passage of new laws contradicting religious traditions is not merely an attack on freedom of consciousness, but returns society back to times of xenophobia and superstition.

Germant, always a leader in building the new Europe, has been placed into the role of a Dark Ages oppressor of religious minorities – all because of an absurd local law forbidding a tradition spanning thousands of years, a tradition followed by tens of thousands citizens of Germany.

We are absolutely certain that these restrictions, put into place by opponents of traditional values, will not outweigh the common sense and good will of Europeans, who see the future not as the fruit of a unified ideology, but as a peaceful and harmonious coexistence of different peoples, cultures, languages and traditions.

Vadim Shulman, 

Euro-Asian Jewish Congress President

 

 

Michael Chlenov,
Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Secretary General

Josef Zisels
Chairman of the EAJC General Council

Alexander Baron
Member of Presidium