By, Orlando Radice
1 min read
ByOrlando Radice, Orlando Radice
The was relief across Europe this week as Poland’s constitutional court ruled that the country’s ban on shechita ran against both the country’s basic laws and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Organisations including the Rabbinical Council of Europe, the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) and Shechita UK have been petitioning the government since a ruling by the Polish constitutional court in 2013 effectively outlawed kosher slaughter.
According to local reports, the court decided that the ban violated the European Convention on Human Rights and led to “discrimination in social and economic life of Jews in Poland”.
Around one third of kosher meat in the UK is sourced from Poland.
Commenting on the precedent set by the ruling, Dayan Yisroel Lichtenstein, head of the Federation Beth Din, said: “This decision is as important as the American Supreme Court ruling that shechita is humane and that banning it violates human rights”.
Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the CER, said: “We are extremely pleased that shechita can continue in Poland as it has done for generations… The repercussions of this ban would have had a far reaching impact across Europe. Poland has today set a precedent for other countries on matters of religious freedom.”
Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich said: “This has been a long and difficult campaign and I would to pay tribute to the justices for reaching a fair and welcome decision.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the leadership of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland for their steadfastness in addressing this issue, and we are grateful for the invaluable support of the Conference of European Rabbis and Shechita UK.”