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Religious communities call for peace in the Chamber
Representatives of the three largest religious communities in our country - Judaism, Islam and the Catholic Church - read out a joint appeal for peace and unity in the Chamber of Representatives on Thursday afternoon at the invitation of MP Michael Freilich. Among other things in it, they warn against importing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into our country.
The Chief Rabbi of the Antwerp Jewish community, Pinchas Padwa, Imam Nordine Taouil and Parish Priest Rik Hoet met in the federal parliament on Thursday at the invitation of MP Michael Freilich. After the meeting, they read out a joint statement calling for unity and solidarity and to oppose terror.
Don’t be led by extremism
The three major religious communities also warn about the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on our society. “Let us not import conflicts from elsewhere and let our lives not be guided by extreme ideas and views. In this country, we are all fellow citizens, neighbours, friends and/or trading partners,” they read, among other things. “It is easy to hide when things are hard, and it is painful when innocent people die, but we must stand up for peace and against hate speech. Belgium is our country and we need each other,” Taouil added.
Ban public support for Hamas
In his intervention in the Chamber, Michael Freilich pointed out another important issue that deserves more attention from the federal government: “The freedom of speech has an important limit, and that is this: calls for violence are intolerable. Because if such speech is tolerated, we all know what will follow: violence. That is why such incitements must be prohibited. What we saw happening in Brussels this weekend at an unauthorised demonstration were Hamas flags and open expressions of support for Hamas and Hamas terror. I can only hope that the security services will keep up with such intolerable demonstrations.”