Belgium’s decision to end Federal Police security for the Jewish quarter of Antwerp on January 1 is “unbelievable” and “outrageous,” Jewish groups and politicians told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
Despite surging antisemitism and hate crimes globally, the 16 officers of the Federal Police who are responsible for the protection of the Jewish quarter in Antwerp will no longer be deployed after January 1. This will leave the Antwerp Police to fill the gap; however, they are already overstretched.
Mayor Els Van Doesburg told Belga News Agency, “The Jewish community across the country has been under increased threat level since 2014. Federal agents were also provided for the security of the Jewish quarter, who, together with local agents, ensured this security. It’s a fifty-fifty split between federal and local, so half of the effort suddenly disappears.”
Van Doesburg called the decision “incomprehensible.”
“There must be no vacuum in the safety of the Jewish quarter in Antwerp,” she added. Antwerp’s Jewish quarter is tight-knit and predominately Orthodox.
Interior Minister Bernard Quintin confirmed the decision but said that the security of Jewish sites remains “an absolute priority.”
Ralph Pais of Belgium’s Jewish Information & Documentation Center told the Post on Thursday that the situation has created “genuine unrest within the Jewish community in Antwerp.”
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He added that the timing is “extremely disturbing” in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack in Sydney and other incidents around the world.
“There is a strong and growing feeling of insecurity,” he added. “Families feel exposed, anxious, and increasingly left on their own.”
“Antisemitic incidents are not abstract concerns; they are a daily reality, documented and verified on an ongoing basis by the Jewish Information & Documentation Center.”
However, Pais expressed hope that “common sense will prevail” and that no effective reduction of security measures will take place on January 1.
Belgian MP Sam van Rooy grilled Quintin on Wednesday, saying, “I expect from you, minister of security, that you ensure that what we have seen in Manchester and a few days ago in Sydney never happens in Antwerp,” he demanded.
“Given the increasing antisemitism and the ongoing jihadist threat, especially now during the period of Christmas and Hanukkah, more security measures are needed, minister. More security is needed. And therefore, stopping the federal police protection in the Jewish quarter in Antwerp and the communication about it, minister, is disgusting.”
Van Rooy told the Post that there should be at least two heavily armed police officers or soldiers with the necessary powers at every synagogue, Jewish school, Jewish institution, and Jewish event.
“I’ve been criticizing the mayor of Antwerp and the government of Belgium already for two years, since October 7, because I don’t think that the Jewish institutions have enough security, and now they are making it less,” he told the Post.
He also expressed outrage at the timing of the announcement, two days after Sydney.
“It’s unbelievable and outrageous,” he said. Van Rooy added that he thinks the government is playing a “political game on Jewish safety.”
“Members of the community are very worried; they are sending messages to me. It’s like the government is creating the perfect storm for the next terror attack to take place.”
The Forum of Jewish Organizations told the Post it is deeply concerned about the current situation.
“We hope we can rely on Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Mayor Els Van Doesburg, both of whom are closely connected to the Jewish community, to take the necessary steps to ensure that our community is not used as a political instrument. Our safety must never become a political issue.”
“We expect to receive the security our community needs and deserves.
Potential retraction of decision
Following reporting of the situation on Thursday, MP Michael Freilich said that he received confirmation that the current situation will not change and that federal officers will remain in place.
However, a spokesperson for Quintin neither confirmed nor denied that the 16 federal agents will remain stationed in Antwerp and instead referred back to the minister’s promise that security for Jewish institutions would not be reduced in any way.
“Classic Belgium; vagueness reigns supreme!” remarked Van Rooy.