Belgian official says attacks on Jews in country a coordinated effort ‘inspired’ by Iran
Head of nation's Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis says synagogue bomb blast and torching of car were not isolated incidents, followed Iranian call to harm Jews and Israelis
A top Belgian security official has said an Iranian-led effort was behind a number of attacks targeting Jews in the country earlier this year.
Speaking to public broadcaster RTBF, Gert Vercauteren, head of Belgium’s Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis, said those behind a bomb attack on a synagogue in Liege and the torching of a car in Antwerp “certainly followed Iran’s call to strike Jewish and Israeli interests everywhere in the world.”
None were hurt in either attack.
Vercauteren said the attacks were part of a coordinated effort, and not isolated cases. He said an individual later arrested in Turkey was leading the coordination of attacks in Europe.
“There have been other interventions, and that is why, for now, we have not seen any more attacks inspired by Iran,” he said.
Iran is believed to have boosted efforts to harm Jewish and Israeli targets around the world since Jerusalem and Washington launched their war against Tehran in late February, leading to increased security for locations tied to Jews and Israel.
The blast at Liege’s Great Synagogue in March shattered windows and damaged the main door. It was condemned by the government as a “despicable antisemitic act.”
Several people were later detained, though no charges have been filed.
Two teens were also arrested later in March for a suspected antisemitic torching of a car in Antwerp.
In several cases, claim-of-responsibility videos circulated on social media, shared by groups identified as pro-Iranian.
The Great Synagogue reopened two months after the blast, according to Belgium’s national Belga News Agency.
Built in 1899, the synagogue also serves as a museum for the history of Liege’s Jewish community.
Antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiments have skyrocketed in Belgium since the start of the war sparked by the devastating Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Attacks such as verbal abuse, intimidation, physical violence and graffiti continue to occur in the 30,000-strong Jewish community on a weekly basis, Ralph Pais, vice-chair of the Jewish Information and Documentation Centre (JID), said in December.