EJP | News | Israel’s chief rabbi insulted by Brussels snub

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Israel’s chief rabbi insulted by Brussels snub

Updated: 31/May/2006 17:08

From L to R back row Seyyed Abbas Ghaemmaghami (background), head and Imam of the Islamic Centre in Hamburg, Bishop of Roman Catholic Church Adrianus H. van Luyn, Chief Rabbi René Gutman,Roman Catholic Church Christoph Cardinal Schnbron. Imam Abduljalil Sajid, And from L to R first row Reverend Jean-Arnold de Clermont, President of Conference of European Churches, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso Wolfgang Schüssel, Austrian Federal Chancellor

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BRUSSELS (EJP)--- Israel’s chief rabbinate is said to have been insulted by the exclusion of its representative from a dialogue meeting in Brussels between the European Commission and representatives of the main religions on Tuesday.

A source close to Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger told EJP that the religious leader “felt insulted by the attitude of the Commission President,” who ignored his request for British rabbi Yitzchak Schochet to participate in the meeting, which was attended by Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Schochet is a representative of the Brussels-based Rabbinical Centre of Europe, which is working in close collaboration with the Israeli chief rabbinate.

While each religion had three representatives at the event, only two Jewish participants were chosen to attend the meeting - Brussels chief rabbi Albert Guigui and Rabbi Rene Guttman from Strasbourg, who are both members of the Conference of European Rabbis. Guttman replaced France’s chief rabbi Joseph Sitruk, the Conference’s President, who could not be present.

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The situation began on May 26 when Metzger's cabinet sent a letter to European Commission President Manuel Barroso, in which he “specifically” requested that the Commission invite Schochet at the planned meeting.

In the letter, the cabinet said Metzger wanted Schochet to be “his formal representative” at the talks “so that he can express our views and ideas to the assembly.”

Rabbi Schochet, the minister of Mill Hill United Synagogue is also vice-chairman of the Rabbinical Council of UK and member of UK’s chief rabbi’s cabinet.

In an angry reaction, Rabbi Schochet told EJP: “President Barroso has chosen to disallow a third representative as they did with other faiths and deliberately ignored the specific request from the Chief Rabbi.

“In a European Union of 25 countries with over 800 Rabbis, today's Jewish representation is lacking regional and linguistic diversity. Does this reflect the European Commission's political games? We must reject the misuse of religion in seeking to address political challenges.”

In his answer to the chief rabbi’s letter, the European Commission President explained that the fact that the Rabbinical Centre of Europe could not be invited at the meeting doesn’t prejudge his “high consideration” for this institution.

A Commission spokesman told EJP that the idea was not to invite all the representatives. “There was no intention to exclude or ignore someone,” Johannes Laitenberger said.

“There will be other such meetings and the Rabbinical Centre of Europe will also be invited,” he added. He recalled that the Centre’s leaders have been invited for a bilateral meeting with the president of the Commission last December.

Sources close to President Barroso said Israel’s chief rabbi “would be welcome” to visit the European Commission.

Common values

Tuesday’s meeting was part of a dialogue initiated by the President of the Commission in order to promote inter-religious relations, establish bridges between religious beliefs and discuss the role of religion in a pluralistic society.

Besides Jewish representatives, several religious leaders representing Christian, and Islamic communities in Europe also took part in the meeting.

This “informal brainstorming”, with no formal statement, was co-chaired by European Commission President and Austrian Chancellor Wofgang Schuessel, current president of the EU Council.

"We need common values more than common currency and more than economic ideas," Barroso said, stressing the importance of mutual respect in the society. “It is very important in Europe that we speak with the other instead of speaking about the other,” he added.

"This is a very important moment. We are honoured to have such a distinguished group of religious leaders with us today," the Commission president said.