Belgian Jewish family says assailant shot gun at bedroom
Couple, whose last name is withheld amid multiple threats, says the intimidation began after neighbors learned they were Jewish
Cnaan Liphshiz is The Times of Israel's Jewish World reporter
JTA — A Jewish family that has received multiple threats in their home in Belgium reported that someone fired a bullet at their bedroom.
The incident happened last month in Marchienne-au-Pont south of Brussels to Eitan and Nicole, who asked their last name be withheld from reports about their case in the media, La Nouvelle Gazette daily reported.
The incident happened at 3 a.m. A car passed their home, backed up and the shot was fired from inside the car into the house, Eitan said.
“I head a bang, looked out the window and saw a black Citroen car with a male driver,” he told the daily. The car had no license plates. The following morning, Eitan found a bullet casing where the car had stopped.
The previous month, Nicole told SudPresse that a man pointed a gun at her on the street on broad daylight.
A bearded individual whom she said had verbally assaulted her in September told her: “I’m going to put a bullet in your head” before taking out a gun and pointing it in her direction, Nicole said. She added that her husband intervened and managed to get her and their son to make a run for the house, after which the alleged assailant walked away.
Earlier this year, the La Meuse regional daily published an article about the multiple cases of harassment directed at the couple. They had been living for two years there without incident, according to the report. But the intimidation began after several neighbors learned the couple is Jewish, Nicole has said.
The couple, who were born in Chile, reported the incidents to police and the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism, or LBCA.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
