Against the background of demographic shifts including the mass migration of non-European populations to Europe, the recent attempt to ban circumcision in Germany could be viewed as the latest juridical aspect of a larger pan-European identity backlash against multi-cultural policies. While apparently directed mainly against Muslims, this new and vigorous opposition to particularist religious rituals also affects the religious practices and hence the status of Judaism, and may, in the long term, pose a serious challenge to the future thriving of European Jewish communities.
Even if each discrete restriction on traditional Jewish life appears to be anchored in universal values and in interests of general societal concern, their cumulative effect does not bode well for the future of organized European Jewries. These include: the recent German ban on circumcision (supported by 45% of Germans and resting on human rights and medical claims), the ban on Jewish ritual slaughter (already effective in Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland!อด resting on animal rights claims), the proposed abolition of eternal cemeteries (in Switzerland, resting on a claim of environmental interest), the rejection of requests for accommodation of public examinations in light of the Jewish calendar (in Franceand Switzerland, resting on a claim of separation between Church and State), the rejection of requests for non-electric entry access in private condominiums (in France, resting on security claims), the reconsideration of the traditional massive public funding of Jewish cultural institutions (in France and other countries, resting on equity claims), the increasing pressure on Jewish day schools (all over Europe,resting on ethnic non-discrimination claims), and more. Taken together, the effect on the daily life of committed Jews as part of the general society is significant.
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