Authorities in Austria and Switzerland have reportedly launched probes into Jewish ritual circumcisions, echoing a high-profile investigation in Belgium that has sparked diplomatic tensions and concerns over religious freedom.
Both in Vienna and in Zürich, investigations were launched into ritual circumcisions within the local orthodox Jewish communities, according to Belgian newspaper De Morgen today.
In Zurich and in Vienna, a criminal complaint was filed over alleged improper and hazardous circumcisions by Moshe Aryeh Friedman. He is a dissident Antwerp rabbi known for criticising certain practices within ultra-Orthodox communities, particularly the traditional Brit Milah (covenant of circumcision) performed on the eighth day after birth by trained mohels.
Part of this ritual is the metzitzah b’peh a controversial, traditional Jewish circumcision practice where a mohel (circumciser) uses his mouth to suck blood from the circumcision wound.
While rooted in Talmudic tradition to aid healing, it carries risks of transmitting infections such as herpes (HSV-1), which can cause serious illness or death in newborns,
Friedman already made the same complaint in Belgium.
Belgian prosecutors recently announced plans to charge two mohels with intentional assault and battery on minors and the unlawful practice of medicine, arguing that the procedures were carried out without the required medical qualifications under Belgian law.
In Belgium and in Switzerland, ritual circumcision itself remains legal when performed by licensed physicians under strict hygiene and safety standards.
Austria has a slightly looser legislation, demanding safety standards but without the requirement of having to have licensed physician only.
The investigation, though, initiated after complaints including those from Friedman, has focused on whether non-medically qualified individuals conducted the rites, with police raids in Antwerp’s Jewish quarter in 2025 seizing equipment and requesting lists of circumcised infants.
The Belgian case has drawn sharp international criticism from the US and Israel.
US Ambassador to Belgium Bill White condemned the prosecutions as “unacceptable harassment”, while Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar described them as a “scarlet letter” on Belgian society, accusing authorities of targeting Jewish religious practice.
Belgian officials, including the Prime Minister Bart De Wever, have rejected anti-Semitism allegations, stressing that the probe originated from complaints within the Jewish community and upholds child protection and medical regulations.
BELGIAN RABBI IS LEAVING
Jewish life has been effectively banned by law. pic.twitter.com/0i2lWKUhsz— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) May 9, 2026
Male circumcision for religious reasons has long been a flashpoint in parts of Europe.
In 2012, a German court ruling that deemed non-therapeutic circumcision a form of bodily harm prompted temporary suspensions in some Austrian and Swiss hospitals, although national laws were later clarified to protect religious freedom.
Jewish and Muslim communities, alongside Christian leaders in Austria, successfully advocated for explicit protections.
Jewish organisations, including the European Jewish Congress, have warned that bans could undermine religious life in historic communities such as Antwerp’s, home to around 18,000–30,000 Jews, many from Hared or Ultra-Orthodox Judaism backgrounds.
