Despite terror threats, Belgium to strip Jewish community of federal protection

Antwerp’s Jewish quarter set to lose federal police protection starting next year despite ongoing terror threats to Jewish communities worldwide.

By World Israel News Staff

The Jewish community in Belgium’s most populous city is about to lose its federal police protection, despite criticism from the city’s mayor and local Jews.

Since 2014, the Belgian federal government has deployed security personnel to Antwerp’s Jewish quarter amid ongoing elevated terrorist threats against the Jewish community.

For the past 11 years, federal police have provided half of the security personnel assigned to guard the Jewish quarter, easing the burden on local authorities.

On Tuesday, however, Antwerp Mayor Els van Doesburg announced that the complement of 16 federal officers guarding the Jewish quarter is set to be withdrawn on January 1.

The decision was made by Interior Minister Bernard Quintin, who said that the “deployment of the federal reserve should not be a structural measure for Antwerp.”

“The decision taken simply means that 16 Brussels federal police officers, who were temporarily assigned as reinforcements, will be redeployed to their original station.”

Mayor van Doesburg called the timing of the move “incomprehensible,” following the deadly attack on a Chanukah celebration in Australia and elevated threats to European Jewish targets.

“The Jewish community across the country has been under increased threat level since 2014. Federal agents were also provided for the security of the Jewish quarter, who, together with local agents, ensured this security. It’s a fifty-fifty split between federal and local, so half of the effort suddenly disappears,” van Doesburg told Belga.

“There must be no vacuum in the safety of the Jewish quarter in Antwerp.”

The announcement came a day after the right-wing Vlaams Belang appealed for an increase in protection for local Jewish institutions.

The interior minister said even after the removal of federal police, “the security of Jewish sites remains an absolute priority.”

Jewish leaders and some lawmakers criticized the decision and Quintin’s defense of the shift in policy.