Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Jews and Muslims Push Denmark on Kosher Slaughter

A joint delegation of observant Muslims and Jews made the case to the Danish ambassador to the United States that his country’s ban on ritual slaughter was harmful to its reputation.

Leading the 10-person delegation to meet Peter Taksøe-Jensen on Feb. 27 were Rabbi Marc Schneier, the president for the Fonmdation for Ethnic Understanding, and Dr. Sayyid Syeed, the director of the Islamic Society of North America.

“One can only wonder if the Danish government is seeking to make life so difficult for Muslims and Jews that many will decide to leave the country,” Syeed said in a statement released prior to the meeting.

Schneier told JTA after the meeting that it went well, and Taksøe-Jensen pledged to relay its message to his government.

“He was not aware of the magnitude of the damage this has caused Denmark’s reputation,” Schneier said.

Denmark’s ban on kosher and halal slaughter went into effect last week.

The ban’s proponents say that ritual slaughter, which does not allow for stunning prior to killing, is cruel.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.