The fallout from US Ambassador Bill White’s comments about an ongoing judicial case about illegal circumcision in Belgium prompted another diplomatic spat between the Belgian and Israeli foreign ministers.
It follows Ambassador White’s comments on a police inquiry in Antwerp into alleged irregularities linked to religious circumcisions, accusing Belgium of antisemitism.
Belgium strongly rejected these claims, calling the comments "unacceptable", with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs having summoned the ambassador for a meeting on Tuesday.
Online, senior Israeli politicians joined in to support White’s outburst, publicly criticising Belgium, prompting Belgian Foreign Minister Prévot to hit back again.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also joined the debate. In a post on X, he listed what he described as rising antisemitic attacks in Belgium, including vandalised cemeteries and threats against synagogues.
He claimed Jews in Belgium are afraid to wear a kippah in public and said the investigation into mohels (men who perform ritual circumcisions) unfairly targets a long-standing religious practice.
Dear Minister Sa'ar,
Belgium is home to one of Europe's oldest Jewish communities. We are proud of that. And we will do everything to keep it that way. When a synagogue is targeted, we are outraged. When graves are desecrated, we are disgusted. When Jewish students face… https://t.co/whjfDyJqBX — Maxime PREVOT (@prevotmaxime) February 17, 2026
Sa’ar also criticised Belgium for suspending consular services to some Belgian citizens living in illegal Israeli settlements, while also accusing the country of having not implemented a domestic strategy to combat antisemitism. He suggested Belgium should "take a hard look in the mirror".
Israeli minister for Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli went even further. He wrote that "the Islamic Republic of Belgium" was becoming "increasingly unfit for Jewish life" and thanked Ambassador White for his stance.
Belgium rejects claims
Prévot responded directly to Sa’ar, defending Belgium’s record. He said Belgium is home to one of Europe’s oldest Jewish communities and that the government is committed to protecting it.
Jewish schools and synagogues have been under reinforced police protection since 7 October 2023, he noted, and hate crimes are prosecuted under strict laws.
He said a national antisemitism coordinator leads cooperation with Jewish community leaders, and pointed to education programmes, research into online hate speech and mandatory visits to the Kazerne Dossin memorial site for offenders convicted of antisemitic abuse.
Illustration picture shows army trucks in the Jewish neighbourhood close to the Antwerp Centraal railway station in Antwerp, Friday 20 November 2015. Credit: Belga
In the Antwerp case, Prévot stressed that the investigation was launched following a complaint from within the Jewish community itself and concerns a specific medical practice.
"Meanwhile, tens of thousands of ritual circumcisions are performed legally in Belgium every year, without any interference. Presenting this as persecution of Jewish life is a distortion of the facts," he said. This does not only concern the Jewish community in Belgium (around 30,000 people), but also includes the ritual circumcisions of Muslims, for example.
Addressing the consular dispute, he said services were suspended for Belgian citizens living in settlements deemed illegal under international law, regardless of religion.
He accused some Israeli leaders of wrongly equating Belgium’s foreign policy positions with antisemitism.
On Wednesday, 85 UN Member States condemned Israel's new measures aimed at expanding its presence in the occupied West Bank, fearing they could lead to the annexation of Palestinian territory and alter its demographic composition.
