”It is a deeply sad and damning indictement that Jewish communities have to write to Belgian Prime Minister asking not to be abandoned,’’ says Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the European Jewish Association.

‘’We sincerely and earnestly hope that Mr De Croo, Belgium’s Prime Minister takes a long hard look at the letter, closely followed by a long hard look at himself and his Government.”

‘’Don’t abandon your Jewish community,’’ asked this week the leaders of the principal Jewish organisations in Belgium in an open letter to Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, as the Jewish community has in recent years suffered the effects of ever-increasing anti-Semitism, which has literally exploded since October 7.

 ‘’You know the direct link between the situation in the Middle East and the explosion of anti-Semitism, and the equation made by too many people between Israel and the Jews, whom they blame for a war 4,000 km away, for which they are in no way responsible,’’ the Jewish leaders wrote in their letter.

‘’It is this importing of conflict that puts us in direct danger and worries us to the utmost, in the fear of acts of violence,’’ they added, deploring the Belgian Prime Minister’s ‘’strong hostility’’ to Israel, saying that ‘’by abandoning Israel, you are abandoning your Jewish community.’’.

The European Jewish Association (EJA), which represents hundreds of communities across the Continent, said it ‘’fully stands beside every word that was said in the letter to De Croo.

‘’In truth, this letter could equally have been written to a large number of the Prime Ministers across Europe,’’ said Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the European Jewish Association, in a statement.

He said ‘’it is lamentable and deeply sad that Jews are forced into such decisions. It is a damning indictment of the current political establishment that, due to a war thousands of miles away, they have thrown Jewish communities to the mob, and left them to deal with horrific rises in antisemitism all alone, whilst simultaneously repeating untrue allegations against the State of Israel, which creates a vicious circle of hate.”

‘’The Belgium Jewish Community is older than the modern state of Belgium itself, and as the communities note, its contributions have been many and valuable. Belgian Jews have contributed to the civic, cultural and economic life of the country as a whole for decades, centuries, millennia,’’ he stressed.

‘’Likewise, in most EU countries, the Jewish community has journeyed through statehood, war, upheaval and every positive moment in the long arc of its patriotic journey with its host country.’’

‘’The open letter is much more than a cry for help and support. It represents a depth gauge of how deep the levels of antizionism and antisemitism has sunk to in Belgium,’’  Rabbi Margolin said.

He concluded: ‘’We sincerely and earnestly hope that Mr De Croo, Belgium’s Prime Minister takes a long hard look at the letter, closely followed by a long hard look at himself and his Government.’’