Compiled from various sources by Carolyn Yeager
Polish animal rights demonstrators hold a rally in Warsaw opposing ritual slaughter, or shechitah (Photo Credit: Empatia PL Facebook)
The Polish Parliament on Friday rejected a draft law put forth by Donald Tusk's government that would have legalized Jewish ritual slaughter, or shechitah, in Poland.
The vote of 222-178 upheld Poland's supreme court ruling of last year that ritual slaughter, or shechita, is no longer exempted from requirements to stun animals prior to killing them.
The two main political parties that opposed the draft law are the Democratic Left Party (SLD), known for it's history of friendliness to Jews, and the Palikot Movement, described as liberal/libertarian, one of whose leaders recently declared "there is no permission for animal cruelty in the name of money."
Its kosher meat industry had became a $400 to $650 million market for Poland annually. The meat is mainly exported to Israel and Muslim countries like Egypt and Iran, not consumed by Polish Jews, which surprisingly number only about 6000. [We learned from The International Jew that millions of Polish/Russian Jews emigrated to the United States and form the largest Jewish "nationality" here.]
The Polish Chief Rabbi has threatened to resign and Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned Poland’s ambassador to register a formal protest.Yigal Palmor, a spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry said: “We have received the news on the latest decision by the Polish parliament to ban Kosher slaughter with shock. I mean, we think it is appalling that Jewish life having been part and parcel of Polish history forever. Now Jews will be prohibited from performing one of their most ancient and important rituals.”
The President of the Farmers Union, Slawomir Izdebski, also slammed the decision. “This is a blow to the Polish economy and Polish farming. Of course the damage won’t be tomorrow or next week, but the consequences of the decision will be felt in six months to a year. The decision taken by parliament is pathetic.”
The cradle of the Holocaust
Ben Cohen, writing in Commentary Magazine, pointed out that Jews are sensitive to the fact that "the (National-Socialists) banned it in Germany only three months after they came to power in 1933. And like many of today’s animal rights activists, the (National-Socialists) depicted the methods of shechita as a gruesome, needless celebration of animal suffering."
Cohen also uses a unique phrasing when he writes that Poland's "historic position as the cradle of the Holocaust," supposedly gives it some responsibility for upholding Jewish rights.
Piotr Kadlcik, head of the Union of Jewish Communities of Poland, opined that “[T]he outrageous atmosphere in the Polish media surrounding shechitah reminds me precisely of the similar situation in Poland and Germany in the 1920s and 1930s.”
Abraham Foxman, Director of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith issued a statement: “The majority of Polish MPs gave the Polish Jewish community three choices: don’t practice your religion, don’t eat meat, or don’t live among us.” [Let's remember there are only 6000 Jews in Poland, so maybe the last option would be the best.]
“For a country still struggling to come to terms with its past treatment of Jews, it is outrageous to strike such a blow to the future of Jews in Poland. This vote was a clear violation of religious freedom, supported by the ignorance of some and the bigotry of others."
The obvious solution to the problem
If Jews around the world are determined to carry on with their ancient ritual, they should be willing to go where they are allowed to do so. That is why they have their own state of Israel. They have no right to insist that their "ancient laws" that are repugnant to other peoples in whose nations they dwell, be respected. Presently, in Europe, both Norway and Switzerland do not allow this type of slaughter. Neither are members of the European Union. That will be a problem for Poland.
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