‘’ After the Jews of France, the Jews of Belgium are the ones who, in Europe, feel the most hostility towards them. 81% of respondents cited public space as the most common source of hostility over the last five years. The European average is around 70%.’’

BRUSSELS—The number of reported antisemitic incidents almost doubled last year in Belgium,  from 56 in 2017 to 101 in 2018, said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel,  in response to questions from European Jewish Press (EJP) regarding the rise of antisemitism, in view of European and national elections that will take place at the end of this month.

Belgium, like other European countries, witnesses a rise of antisemitism. ”Insults, harassment and violence that can lead to deaths like in  the antisemitic attack at the Jewish Museum of Brussels in 2014,” he said.

‘’ After the Jews of France, the Jews of Belgium are the ones who, in Europe, feel the most hostility towards them. 81% of respondents cited public space as the most common source of hostility over the last five years. The European average is around 70%,’’ Michel, who is leading the francophone  Mouvement Reformateur (MR) liberal party list for the elections, noted.

In his responses, he noted that ‘’some of our fellow citizens have also made the choice of expatriation, feeling no longer safe in their own country.’’ ‘’No Belgian, no European should be brought to make such a choice of life. Our country cannot get used to hate speech or anti-Semitism’’, he said, adding that ‘’the federal government has significantly strengthened the security of all Jewish community places, especially schools and synagogues. He also fought against Holocaust denial by hardening sentences.’’

‘’As a democratic and liberal politician, I am worried about the number of Jews preferring to leave Europe for the United States or for Israel because they feel safer there and because they are afraid to practice their religion. worship or wear a street kippah,’’ he said.

He recalled what he declared during the commemoration at the Great Synagogue of Brussels of the liberation of the death camps that “Belgium without the Jews would no longer be Belgium. Europe without Jews would no longer be Europe “.

Around 35,000 Jews live in Belgium.

‘’ That is why my government has substantially strengthened protection around Jewish religious, educational and cultural sites throughout the country,’’ Michel said.

His  party, he said, passed a few months ago an ambitious resolution against anti-Semitism in the Belgian Senate. ‘’Among other things, this text calls for the government to appoint a national coordinator for the fight against anti-Semitism and for the anti-Semitism watchdog to be operational again. Our resolution also calls for a clear identification, on an annual basis, of the number of acts of anti-Semitic nature, the number of cases actually prosecuted and convictions handed down.’’

The text also aims to systematically and publicly condemn antisemitic statements and calls for the establishment of an “anti-Semitism module” as part of the policy of integration and access to citizenship as well as a clear definition of the antisemitism based on the work of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

Responding a question about his party stance on the anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Disinvestment, Sanctions) movement, Charles Michel stressed that the MR  ‘’has never supported the actions of BDS and  it finds particularly regrettable to call for a boycott of Israeli cultural events or Israeli universities.’’ ‘’Firstly, universities in Israel are world famous for their scientific and academic level. To deprive oneself of collaboration with them is a major mistake. Secondly, it is often thanks to these same universities but also to cultural movements and artists that initiatives and calls for peace have been launched. Boycotting them makes absolutely no sense.’’