BRUSSELS—‘’We carry the Jewish community in our hearts and will never allow that you become the target of blind violence,’’ said Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Jan Jambon in an address to the gala dinner of the European Jewish Association (EJA) flagship annual conference in Brussels.
The two-day conference, attended by representatives of Jewish communities across Europe, diplomats, experts and journalists, is mainly dealing with the issue of antisemitism in view of next year European elections.
‘The Jewish community is part of our Flemish, Belgian and European community.We will not allow that our enemies attack part of our community,’’ he said.
Recalling the ‘’gruesome antisemitic attack’’ in the synagogue Tree of Life in Pittsburgh that took the lives of eleven innocent people, the minister stressed that ‘’this is not an isolated incident but an indication of the general atmosphere within our societies where hostility and violence against the Jewish community still persist and is advocated by extremists on both ends of the spectrum.’’
‘’Prior and recent events keep forcing us to face the fact that antsemitism remains a sweeping threat that we have to combat with all possible forces,’’ he said, adding that ‘’we have to make sure that the necessary security and protection is being guaranteed.’’
He noted that in Belgium, despite the decline of the Islamic State terror organisation (IS), level 3 of security remain in force in the Jewish neighborhoods in Brussels and Antwerp. ‘’That means that we continue to provide the same military protection as we put in place since the attack on Charly Hebdo in 2015.’’
‘’It is important that you rest assured that we will keep doing this as long as necessary,’’ minister Jambon said. ‘This takes place in parallel of the financial efforts we contributed in order to provide enhanced structural protection measures with regard to Jewish facilities.’’
During the dinner, hosted by Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman and Founder of the European Jewish Association, Minister Jambon, as well as the president of the Consistoire in France, Joel Mergui, and several ambassadors in Brussels lit eleven candles in memory of the victims of the Pittsburgh shooting during Shabbat services on October 27 perpetrated by a man who yelled ‘’all Jews must die.’’
In a reference to the debate on whether Jews should make alliances with extremist politicians, Joel Mergui told the audience: ”There are people who like to cry with us our dead but who are not with us when it concerns our traditions and religious practices.” ”I don’t want to invite these people,” he said.