Soldiers to provide security for synagogues and Jewish schools in Belgium
The Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with the federal police, will be responsible for the security of sites linked to the Jewish community in Belgium. This was announced by the Ministers of the Interior and Defence, Bernard Quintin (MR) and Theo Francken (N-VA). The decision follows the attack on the synagogue in Liège and the events in Norway and the Netherlands.
The deployment will specifically take place at synagogues and Jewish schools in Belgium, and will be implemented “as soon as possible”, according to the ministers. The operational aspects will be managed by the police, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Defence. It is not yet clear how many military personnel will be deployed.
“Against a backdrop of rising anti-Semitism, the attack on the synagogue in Liège has once again demonstrated that the threat to the Jewish community in Belgium is very real,” said Minister Quintin.
Early on the morning of 9 March, Liège was shaken by an explosion near the synagogue. A few days later, there were incidents in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, where a fire was started in a synagogue and there was an explosion at a Jewish school. In Norway, there was an explosion at the US embassy on 8 March.
Following the attack in Liège, several political leaders had called for the deployment of military personnel to ensure security at places frequented by many Jews. MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez had repeated that call in the Chamber on Thursday, and on Monday the mayor of Antwerp, Els van Doesburg (N-VA), also expressed her impatience in the press. The Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organisations in Belgium (CCOJB) had also called for military personnel to be deployed on the streets.
The MR has long been pressing for soldiers to be deployed on the streets to tackle crime in Brussels, but also to guard Jewish sites. However, the CD&V has linked the issue to tackling overcrowding in prisons. The core cabinet revisited the issue on Friday but was unable to reach an agreement.
The problem remains unresolved, according to reliable sources. The decision announced by Francken and Quintin is based on Article 111 of the Integrated Police Act, under which the commissioner general of the federal police may call upon military personnel to support police duties.
This is not the first time the police have called on the army to secure locations associated with the Jewish community. This already happened during operation “Vigilant Guardian”, which was launched in 2015 in response to the terrorist threat in Belgium.
Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) said in a statement that she has taken note of the decision by the two ministers. “This decision was not discussed within the government beforehand,” she stated. She added that she “will bring this to the government’s attention very shortly and will discuss with the commissioner general the shortage of resources within the police force that he has highlighted as hindering the execution of this task.”
Illustration © BELGA PHOTO LUC CLAESSEN
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