Belgium summons U.S. ambassador over tweet accusing kingdom of antisemitism

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BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium summoned the U.S. ambassador on Tuesday over a social media post where he accused the country of antisemitic prosecution of Jewish Belgians, the kingdom's foreign minister said.

“Labeling Belgium as antisemitic is not just wrong, it’s dangerous disinformation that undermines the real fight against hatred,” said Belgian foreign minister Maxime Prévot in a post on X on Monday. The summons is a rare move between staunch allies.

“An ambassador accredited to Belgium has a responsibility to respect our institutions, our elected representatives, and the independence of our judicial system," Prévot said. "Personal attacks against a Belgian minister and interference in judicial matters violate basic diplomatic norms.”

National broadcaster VRT said Belgian authorities are investigating whether three men in Antwerp were performing circumcisions without certified medical training.

U.S. Ambassador Bill White said on a post on X that this investigation was "unacceptable harassment of the Jewish community here in Antwerp and in Belgium.

He said he would visit the three accused men in Antwerp and asked Belgium's minister of health to join him.

“You must make a legal provision to allow Jewish religious MOHELS to perform their duties here in Belgium," he said, using a Hebrew term for a Jewish officiant trained in circumcision, a central tenet of the faith.

Without it, a Jewish person typically can’t have a bar mitzvah, a Jewish wedding or be buried in a Jewish cemetery.

Prévot, the foreign minister, said that “Belgian law permits ritual circumcision when performed by a qualified physician under strict health and safety standards” and that he would not comment on an ongoing investigation.