Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) has expressed his concern over antisemitism following an explosion in front of the synagogue in Liège on Sunday night.
An explosion was heard just before 04:00 on Sunday night outside the synagogue on Rue Léon Frédéricq in Liège, local police reported. No one was injured, according to the police, but material damage was caused.
"Antisemitism is an attack on our values and our society, and we must fight it unequivocally," De Wever wrote on X. "We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Liège and across the country," he added.
The Walloon Minister for Local Authorities, François Desquesnes (Les Engagés), condemned the act "in the strongest possible terms" as a "criminal act of an antisemitic nature."
"Places of worship must remain safe, respected, and protected. There must be spaces for reflection, peace, and freedom. No religious or philosophical community should feel threatened. Freedom of worship is guaranteed by our Constitution, and the public authorities intend to ensure that everyone has the necessary conditions to exercise this fundamental freedom," he said.
Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) said that, "The explosion in front of the Liège synagogue is an abject antisemitic act that directly targeted the Jewish community of Belgium."
The Federal Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation. Quintin's spokesperson has confirmed to Belga News Agency that security measures around similar sites "will continue to be reinforced."
The minister will travel to Liège mid-afternoon on Monday, where he will meet with security services. These services have been on "extreme vigilance" since the escalation of the situation in the Middle East following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, it was confirmed.
'Antisemitism has no place in our society'
The French-speaking socialist party PS's president, Paul Magnette, said, "violence is never a solution." He "firmly" condemned this "antisemitic act" and expressed his solidarity with the people of Liège and with the public authorities on the ground.
"Unity and solidarity must remain our unwavering guiding principles," he urged.
The president of the francophone centrists, Yvan Verougstraete (Les Engagés), called for legal action to be taken "with the utmost rigour."
"Antisemitism has no place in our society. Attacking a place of worship, whatever it may be, is unacceptable. Freedom of religion and the security of communities must be guaranteed without the slightest ambiguity. Faced with hatred, there is no possible neutrality: it must be denounced and firmly combated," he wrote on social media.
For Georges-Louis Bouchez of the francophone liberal MR party, this morning's explosion "reminds us how deeply the cancer of antisemitism is present in our country" and "some should reflect on their words instead of being overcome by emotion."
In the same message, he denounces the antisemitic attacks suffered by Forest municipal councillor and former DéFI deputy Marc Loewenstein since his move to MR.
