Following Vienna attack, Antwerp to provide additional protection for Jews
Michael Freilich, a spokesperson for the Jewish community, told everyone to be on "full alert."
By SARAH BEN-NUNA European Union flag flies outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2019.(photo credit: REUTERS/YVES HERMAN)
In the wake of the terror attack in Vienna, the Mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, announced on Tuesday that the city will provide additional protections for its 20,000 Jewish residents, Algemeiner reported on Wednesday.The decision to increase protection is based on intelligence reports from Belgian Police, Wever said.Michael Freilich, a spokesperson for the Jewish community, told everyone to be on "full alert."Except for kosher supermarkets, the only institutions that are open right now in the Belgian Jewish community are a few schools.The Belgian government has an agency, OCAD, which monitors antisemitism in the country. According to them, Antwerp's Jewish community's current threat level is 3, which "indicates a serious possibility of a terrorist attack," as reported to Algemeiner.According to Freilich, following the Vienna attack, “the mayor of Antwerp immediately had extra security measures activated, for which the Jewish community is grateful.”
