Trump ambassador calls out ‘antisemitic’ Belgian health minister
The Washington Examiner reports that Bill White, the Trump-era U.S. ambassador to Belgium, publicly criticized Belgium’s Deputy prime Minister and Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke for what he described as antisemitic prosecutions of Jewish religious figures who perform circumcisions (brit milah) in Antwerp. In a lengthy post on X, White urged Belgium to drop the “ridiculous” case against three Jewish mohels and pressed for a legal provision allowing Jewish religious leaders to carry out circumcisions in Belgium. He also claimed that Vandenbroucke refused to shake his hand, citing a perceived dislike of the United States, and he invited Belgian leaders to accompany him to Antwerp to meet the mohels and their families. The article notes police raids last May on three Jewish homes in Antwerp as part of investigations into circumcision-related practices, though no arrests where made, and it adds that under Belgian law circumcision is typically performed by medical professionals, with recent moves to ban kosher slaughter. Vandenbroucke did not respond to requests for comment, and White, a former president of the intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum and a one-time Obama supporter, remains a diplomat in the Trump administration.
Trump ambassador calls out ‘very rude’ Belgian health minister over ‘antisemitic’ prosecution of religious figures
President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Belgium on Monday slammed his host country’s deputy prime minister and health minister, accusing his department of antisemitism.
In a lengthy social media post, Ambassador Bill White singled out Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Social Affairs Frank Vandenbroucke, imploring him to “drop” what he described as Belgium’s “ridiculous” and antisemitic “prosecution” of three Jewish religious figures who perform the custom of circumcision, known as brit milah, in Antwerp.
“You must make a legal provision to allow Jewish religious MOHELS to perform their duties here in Belgium,” White wrote on X on Monday. “BELGIUM is a civilized country. Stop this unacceptable harassment of the Jewish community here in Antwerp and in Belgium. It’s 2026, you need to get into the 21st century and allow our brethren Jewish families in Belgium to legally execute their religious freedoms!”
White, who was confirmed to his post last October, then went further, alleging Vandenbroucke “refused” to shake his hand or be photographed with him because of his “clear” “dislike” of the United States, “the country that fought and where tens of thousands of our nation’s sons died for Belgium’s freedom twice” during the first and second World Wars.
“Take action NOW! The world is watching. America is counting on you to do the right thing,” he wrote. I am heading to Antwerp next week to meet with these MOHELS and their families. Frank you and Conner Rousseau should come with me!”
Rousseau is another Belgian politician and chairman of the country’s social-democratic Flemish Vooruit party.
Vandenbroucke did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
White appears to be referring to raids by Belgian police of three Jewish homes in Antwerp last May, in which officers were reportedly looking for knives and other equipment used in circumcisions, in addition to documentation, after a local rabbi complained that they were also performing metzitzah b’peh, in which mohels suck the penises of the circumcised boys to clean the wound.
Rabbi Aharon Eckstein, one of the rabbis who was raided and a prominent figure in Belgium’s Haredi Orthodox Jewish community, has denied any wrongdoing.
No arrests were made at the time, but the police action has been criticized by the European Jewish Association.
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Under Belgian law, circumcision is supposed to be performed by medical professionals, with the country also recently prohibiting Jewish kosher slaughter, or shechita, which requires animals to be conscious at the time of their killing.
White was the former president of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum and Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, as well as a one-time supporter of former President Barack Obama, before becoming a diplomat for the Trump administration.
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