Belgian authorities have decided to not take any additional measures to protect synagogues or Jewish centres, for the time being. This comes following the anti-Semitic attack in Pittsburgh, United States, which resulted in 11 deaths.
The Belgian government’s crisis centre released an announcement saying, “the threat level in our country is on level 2 (which indicates an average and unlikely threat on a scale from 1 to 4), and level 3 for Jewish centres (a serious and credible threat).
The attacker entered the Synagogue screaming "all jews have to die" © Belga
This means that particular measures already are in place, they explain. “For the moment, neither the threat level nor the security measures have been changed. However, the situation is of course closely monitored and a reassessment is always possible,“ adds the crisis centre.
The Brussels Times reached out to the European synagogue in Brussels. "Security measures can never be enough, at the same time we are very grateful for what the police and security services do to our community," said Rabbi Michoel Rosenblum.
Eleven people lost their lives when a man entered the synagogue during a Saturday morning prayer and baby naming ceremony, armed with a semi-automatic rifle and three pistols. "I just want to kill Jews," the perpetrator, 46 year old, Robert Bowers told police.
The Brussels Times
