Following controversial remarks by Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens that terror was no longer confined only to “synagogues and Jewish museums,” Belgium’s Chief Rabbi said that Jews have no future in Europe, The Jerusalem Post reported Monday.
Rabbi Avraham Gigi spoke to Israeli radio station 103 FM about the atmosphere of fear in the Belgian capital that has been in a state of near lockdown for the past three days.
“There is a sense of fear in the streets, the Belgians understand that they too are targets of terror. Jews now pray in their homes [as opposed to at synagogues] and some of them are planning on emigrating,” Gigi said.
“Since Shabbat the city has been paralyzed. The synagogues were closed, something which has not happened since World War Two. People are praying alone or are holding small minyanim [small prayer groups] at private homes. Schools and theaters are closed as are most large stores and public events are not permitted. We live in fear and wait for instructions from the police or the government,” he said.
According to Gigi, Belgium’s roughly 50,000 Jews, who are concentrated in Brussels and Antwerp, have been increasingly moving to Israel, the United States, and Canada. “People understand there is no future for Jews in Europe,” he added.
In remarks reported by The Guardian on Sunday, Geens said that the deadly attacks in Paris indicated that the profile of potential terrorism targets in Europe has changed. “It’s no longer synagogues or the Jewish museums or police stations,” Geens argued, “it’s mass gatherings and public places.”
Geens’ insinuation that terrorist attacks against Jews and law enforcement officials are of a different nature than those that target the general public reflected an attitude recently conveyed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who suggested that there is sometimes a “rationale” for terrorism. It also recalled a statement made by French Prime Minister Raymond Barre, who said in 1980 following an attack that killed four in a Paris synagogue, “This odious bombing wanted to strike Jews who were going to the synagogue and it hit innocent French people who crossed Rue Copernic.”
[Photo: Dan / Flickr ]