“I deplore this umpteenth expression of anti-Semitic hatred,” said Israel’s ambassador to Belgium, Emmanuel Nahshon.

bpost said that an internal investigation was being considered even though the company “does not have sufficient elements for the moment.”

A Belgian-Israeli living in Rishon LeZion, near Tel Aviv, has received, several months after mailing it, a letter he had sent to Belgium but whose address was then rendered illegible by a swastika and antisemitic insults, the Belgian media reported.

The mail, addressed by Yves Biron to his notary in Anderlecht in August 2021, arrived in Belgium a few days after being mailed in Israel and would have been processed in a Brussels sorting center. However, it was sent back to Israel almost three and a half months after its arrival in Belgium, with the mention “insufficient/incorrect address”, this one having been voluntarily altered, notably by the drawing of a swastika and the inscription “J Fuck”, which could be translated as “Shit to the Jews”.

Shocked by this anti-Semitic act, the sender told daily La Dernière Heure that he contacted the Israeli post office to encourage it to file a complaint against bpost, the Belgian postal company. He also contacted the Israeli embassy in Belgium and various Jewish associations.

“This is a serious matter. I deplore this umpteenth expression of anti-Semitic hatred,” Israel’s ambassador to Belgium, Emmanuel Nahshon told Belgian news agency Belga. “I have full confidence in the Belgian authorities to deal with this phenomenon in a determined manner.”

For its part, bpost said that an internal investigation was being considered even though the company “does not have sufficient elements for the moment.” “It goes without saying that we will do everything possible to shed light on this matter and that we are ready to take the appropriate measures to defend the values that we hold dear and that make up our identity,” said the company’s spokeswoman.

“This kind of behavior is not aligned with our values of diversity and inclusion, as well as our work rules, and we strongly condemn it,” she added.