CCOJB noted that the vote came on the very day that Israel commemorated its fallen soldiers and the victims of terrorism, and on the eve of the 75th anniversary of Israel’s independence.

CCOJB, the umbrella group of Jewish organisations in Belgium, expressed its indignation following the vote by the city council of Liège to vote a motion to boycott the state of Israel.

In a statement, the group noted that the vote came on the very day that Israel commemorated its fallen soldiers and the victims of terrorism, and on the eve of the 75th anniversary of Israel’s independence. ‘’Liège has chosen to vote to suspend its relations with Israel, even though they do not exist,’’ the statement added.

The motion, which was tabled by the Party of Workers of Belgium (PTB), an extreme-left wing and Marxist party, calls to “temporarily suspend relations with the State of Israel and Israeli complicit institutions until the Israeli authorities end the system of violations of the Palestinian people and fully respect international law.’’

The Socialist Party, but also two small local parties, Vega and Green Ardent voted for this boycott.

‘’The City of Liège thus arrogates to itself a competence that it does not have, without its attention being drawn to the shocking situations prevailing in many totalitarian countries,’’ says the CCOJB.

‘’The CCOJB and the Foyer culturel juif de Liège denounce the interference of the City of Liège in international politics, adopting the PTB’s blind hostility and strong anti-Zionism towards the State of Israel,’’ the statement adds.

‘’This type of manichean position is not conducive to promoting dialogue and, more importantly, constitutes an unwelcome import of the conflict in the Middle East and once again undermines the serenity of the Jewish community, particularly that of Liege.’’