On a train between Antwerp and Mechelen, passengers were surprised on Wednesday afternoon when suddenly they heard anti-Semitic messages blared through the intercom.
According to VRT Flemish television, four people had access to the intercom on the train of national operator SNCB, which they used to broadcast anti-Semitic messages to passengers. According to witnesses, they said in Flemish: “Attention, attention, the cancer Jews need to leave the train now or we’ll blow you all up.”
The train conductor informed the company’s security service but when they wanted to intervene at Mechelen station, the suspects started running.
“We started an investigation and of course strongly condemn the incident,” said a rail company spokesperson.
Michael Freilich, a Belgian-Jewish MP has filed parliamentary questions about the incident to the transportation ministry.
Freilich asked the ministry to explain why the perpetrators were not caught, how they gained access to the address system and what can be done to prevent a recurrence.
In 2012, a similar incident took place aboard a SNCB train.