From Hamodia staff
The number of anti-Semitic acts in Belgium has increased significantly since Hamas’ attack on Simchas Torah, according to the latest data published Thursday by Unia, an independent public organization fighting discrimination. From October 7th to December 7th, UNIA received 91 reports related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, compared to 57 reports for the entire year 2022. The majority of these reports included anti-Semitic statements or actions, with 66 of them explicitly mentioning Jews. Place of origin of the individual in question. Although most incidents were primarily online hate messages, incidents also occurred in public spaces.
Reported incidents include assaults, graffiti, and the desecration of numerous graves in the Jewish section of a cemetery near Charleroi. In comparison, Unia said that in 2022 he received 4-5 reports per month related to anti-Semitism, and for the year he received a total of 57 reports. Since October 7, 2023, there has been a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents.
The reported increase in anti-Semitic acts is consistent with trends observed in various European countries since the outbreak of the war. Belgium, which has a Jewish population of about 29,000, is seeing this increase, especially in cities like Antwerp.
Although most of the Jewish community in the capital Brussels is secular, the city of Antwerp has a large Jewish community. chareidi community.