Belgium\u2019s prime minister fired back at President Donald Trump\u2019s ambassador Wednesday, rejecting accusations of antisemitism.<\/p>\n
The clash followed a move by Antwerp prosecutors to reportedly indict two Jewish ritual circumcisers Wednesday. \u201cBelgium is not an antisemitic state; that is nonsense,\u201d Bart De Wever said, according<\/a> to Belga News Agency. The prime minister cautioned that the case may never reach trial and urged restraint from all sides. \u201cStirring up the controversy is a bad idea,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n U.S. Ambassador Bill White had gone<\/a> public on X, calling the prosecution \u201ca shameful stain on Belgium\u201d and saying the country\u2019s image abroad would be that of an antisemitic state. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar piled<\/a> on, branding the case \u201ca scarlet letter on Belgian society.\u201d (RELATED: Trump Suing Harvard Again, Claiming Anti-Jewish Harassment)<\/a><\/p>\n Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Pr\u00e9vot answered<\/a> the ambassador on X, calling White\u2019s framing \u201cdefamatory\u201d and pointing out the probe began with a complaint from inside the Jewish community itself.<\/p>\n That complainant was Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Friedman, an anti-Zionist figure who has been accused in the past of Holocaust<\/a> denial, according<\/a> to The Algemeiner. Friedman\u2019s 2023 filing accused six mohels of putting babies at risk through metzitzah b\u2019peh, a practice the accused mohels deny carrying out. White said one of the mohels facing prosecution is American.<\/p>\n The Antwerp Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office indicted two mohels for \u201cintentional assault or bodily harm with premeditation against minors, as well as the illegal practice of medicine,\u201d according to the outlet.<\/p>\n In February, Belgium summoned White after he posted<\/a> on X that \u201cantisemitism is UNACCEPTABLE\u201d and pressed Belgian officials to \u201cget into the 21st century,\u201d according<\/a> to The Hill.<\/p>\n