Dutch queen knights Orthodox rabbi
By GIL SHEFLER
04/29/2012 01:20
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands makes Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs an officer of the Order of Orange Nassau.
![RABBI BINYOMIN JACOBS with Queen Beatrix [file]](../../HttpHandlers/ShowImage.ashx?ID=192658 "RABBI BINYOMIN JACOBS with Queen Beatrix [file]")
RABBI BINYOMIN JACOBS with Queen Beatrix [file] Photo: RCE
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on Friday morning made Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs an
officer of the Order of Orange Nassau.
The head of state gave the title
to the 63-year-old rabbi, who is the religious leader of the country’s Jewish
communities outside Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, in a festive
ceremony.
“This is an important day for Jews in this part of the world,”
said Benoit Wesly, the head of the Jewish community of Limburg. “The title
bestowed on Jacobs is a great honor to all Jews in the country. It’s a source of
great pride for us and we thank the Almighty for helping Jacobs receive such an
honor.”
In recent years Jacobs, who is a member of the Rabbinical Council
of the Rabbinical Center of Europe, has been one of the most outspoken
defendants of kosher slaughter, schita, giving interviews and taking part in
debates opposing those who would have it banned on grounds that it violated
animal rights.