(JNS.org) Jewish groups have condemned a July 12 vote in the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament, rejecting a bill that would have reinstated the Polish government’s recognition of religious slaughter, including kosher and halal practices. Poland instituted a ban on ritual slaughter in January, deeming a 2004 exemption that legalized kosher slaughter, or shechita, unconstitutional. On July 12, the Sejm voted 222-178 against a proposal that would have reinstated the exemption. “The majority of Polish [members of parliament] gave the Polish Jewish community three choices: don’t practice your religion, don’t eat meat, or don’t live among us,” Anti-Defamation League Chairman Abraham Foxman said.
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