This is a follow-up to yesterday's report about the Belgian Ministry of Interior withdrawing military security for Jewish sites in major cities like Brussels and Antwerp. The below article from the Dutch-language Belgian Jewish Daily, Joods Actueel, is translated by Fousesquawk.
We are working on yet another article that describes how left-wing groups in Belgium have worked to get the military troops removed from Jewish sites with the argument that they don't want soldiers in the streets of Belgian cities. At this time, municipal authorities are scrambling to fill the security void. They are not at all happy about what they see as a breach of promise by the federal government. Below is a long statement by the mayor of Antwerp.
No extra security measures after withdrawal of soldiers out of Jewish neighborhood on September 1
20 August 2021
In spite of earlier promises to guarantee the security of the Jewish community after the withdrawal of the military on September 1, the cabinet of the Minister for Internal Affairs has confirmed to Joodse Actueel that there will be no extra personnel or budget made available. The minister declares her "understanding" for the concern. The Jewish community is "shocked" and wants further consultations. But for the government, the matter seems to be closed.
Guido Joris
Joods Actueel was able to speak about this with Peter Poulussen, communications director for Annelies Verlinden. This confirms the following decisions of the cabinet. The soldiers will remain on the street no longer, neither the federal police nor the General Security Service (DAB) will take over the surveillance task, and there will be no extra budget for local police or for the deployment of private surveillance firms that the Jewish institutions should themselves (hire).
Minister Verlinden declared in the Parliament, however, on June 30 the following: "I understand the concern from the Jewish community and their representatives. We have continuously underlined that we want to guarantee the same level of security as the current level. And I shall not fail to reassure the Jewish community on that as much as possible. We shall spare no expense to guarantee the security."
The terror threat is set by the OCAD and the Federal Crisis Center. For our country, that has been lowered to terror level 2 for the last couple of years. That means that an attack at this moment is not very probable. Exceptions are a few embassies (who have their own surveillance) and the Jewish institutions. They are at terror level 3, which means that the threat of an attack is not only "possible" but "probable"
Disbelief
Yohan Benizri, Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the Jewish Community of Belgium, is reacting with disbelief to the news. "We don't understand this ambiguous attitude of the government. On the one hand, they promise for months that the same level of security will be guaranteed after September 1, but on the other hand, they refuse all of our questions." Yet, Benizri still believes in a last-minute solution, and he won't give up all hope-though at this moment, he is "very concerned".
The Forum of Jewish Organizations is withholding comment for now. "We are in contact with the government and await an official response to us before we react," says vice-chairman Philippe Scharf.
"Distrust motion"
Michael Freilich, N-VA member of Parliament and also figurehead of the Jewish community, is reacting sharply. "On June 30, Minister Verlinden answered my question in the Chamber. On this, she indicated that the government 'would spare no expense'. How you can promise this and then do the diametric opposite is beyond me."
Michael Freilich: "This is a motion of distrust toward the entire Jewish community, which sends a clear signal that their security is not a priority for the federal government. There have been several attacks on Jewish targets in our country, in Europe; the situation in the Middle East and Afghanistan does nothing to suggest that this period is over. I call on the minister and the government to review this despicable decision.
All government parties have butter on their heads in this. My resolution in Parliament to take the security of the Jewish community to heart has been voted down several times, the last time this past July 15, which causes me pain."
Local forces
According to Minister Verlinden, the police forces in Antwerp and Brussels must pay for the security with local resources. Police Chief Serge Muyters had earlier indicated that the setting up of long-term static security assignments was not possible without additional resources and that such was not part of the standard package belonging to the local police.
Five times no
The Jewish community had presented the government with 5 avenues to continue providing for their security. They were rejected one after the other. The 5 avenues:
1 Allow the soldiers to stay at their posts as long as the heightened terror level is in effect.
2 Provide federal police agents to take over the task if necessary.
3 Adapt the KB to transfer the task to the DAB (General Security Service), which was established after the attacks in Brussels and Zaventem.
4 Provide resources for local forces if they must organize it themselves.
5 Provide within a budget in which schools and institutions can hire security forms themselves.
De Wever
The Antwerp mayor, Bart De Wever (N-VA), has also reacted:
"In recent years, the Jewish community, as well as the Antwerp police zone, have greatly appreciated the deployment of Defense after the attacks against the Jewish Museum in Brussels and in Paris. Our city is thankful for the hard work our military has delivered.
The heightened threat level for the more than 80 Jewish institutions in Antwerp, in which we must, of course, give particular attention for a safe school environment, will, unfortunately, not yet end. The situation in Afghanistan, in which we cannot underestimate the mental impact on the violent tendencies within Islamic extremism, makes us realize that all the more.
Both the leadership of the Antwerp Police Zone and I have urged the federal government to provide federal resources for the requirements of this security, which is determined by the federal (government), even after the cessation of Defense deployment.
The federal ministers for internal affairs, including the current ones, have always promised that this would be done. The city of Antwerp, meanwhile, has taken on more than its responsibility, through investments in technological and infrastructural security and the further development of the special service (DIA/ISRA) within the Antwerp Police Zone. But for the physical security of the Jewish community, 36 extra full-time employees are necessary, which the Antwerp Police Zone cannot supply without cutting core tasks from fighting crime and working in proximity. It was thus, always unthinkable for the city and the various ministers that the local police would take on this task alone.
After various discussions over months, leaving our local police and my cabinet under an illusion, the minister decides now barely two weeks in advance that there will finally be no federal deployment. After the disappearance of the military, the Antwerp Police Zone has to take care of it alone. Even alternatives, for example, concerning the financial support for extra capacity with the local police, were just ignored. Moreover, the timing is hallucinatory. In September, there are several Jewish holidays that require special security measures.
I take this very seriously. Whenever a local government in this country takes on more because the federal government is lacking, it seems afterward to be the case that there is no discussion of any subsequent federal responsibility. That is the world on its head and a further illustration of how the federal institutions are stuck.
If the minister will not take on her responsibility, Antwerp will. With thanks to the excellent functioning of the Antwerp Police Zone and mindful of the security of the residents of Antwerp. In the coming days, I will, together with the leadership of the force, study how we will handle the cessation of the Defence (military). But this is nothing less than a breach of promise from the minister and a slap in the face of the Antwerp Jewish community and our local police."
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