Antisemitic incidents have increased tenfold since the Gaza war began. The N-VA is calling for the army to be deployed

In the past two weeks, the Jewish community has recorded at least 182 incidents of an anti-Semitic nature, according to figures from Shmira, the voluntary organisation that monitors security in the Jewish community. That is ten times more than normal and is probably just the tip of the iceberg, as the vast majority of incidents are not reported. “These are shocking figures,” says MP Michael Freilich.

Freilich launched a joint appeal in the Chamber last week with representatives of the three largest religious communities in our country not to bring the Middle East conflict to our country. “We each have our opinion about the Middle East, and that is fine in our democracy. But we must never allow the glorification of violence and conflicts being fought out in our streets.”

The army

The Jewish community is still waiting for concrete measures for scaled-up security from the federal government, as promised by Prime Minister De Croo in the De Zevende Dag television programme. The N-VA is calling for the army to take on this task once again. “They can be deployed quickly, know both the task and the terrain, are well trained to deal with terrorist threats and also have a major deterrent effect. France deployed 7,000 soldiers to sensitive locations throughout the country last week,” Freilich concluded.