A case brought by controversial Antwerp "rabbi" Moshe Friedman against Bill White, the US ambassador to Belgium, will start on 20 October before the 26th chamber of the Brussels Criminal Court, according to a direct summons seen by Belga News Agency.
Several Flemish media outlets, including Het Laatste Nieuws and newspapers from the Mediahuis group, had already reported that Friedman had taken legal action against Bill White.
Last July, the US ambassador made scathing remarks about Moshe Friedman in the weekly magazine Humo after the latter had lodged a complaint against US President Donald Trump.
While Friedman uses the religious title of "rabbi" and says he has been active as one in Vienna, he is said not to have completed the prescribed training. Numerous Jewish organisations have repeatedly stressed that Friedman does not lead any recognised synagogue or congregation and holds no recognised rabbinical position within Belgium’s official Jewish community.
To mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, the Antwerp diamond industry had presented Trump with a ring set with 321 diamonds and 75 other precious stones. According to Friedman, this gift was intended to persuade the president to exert pressure on the Belgian investigation into ritual circumcisions. White is also said to have made disparaging remarks about man on Instagram.
According to Friedman, the ambassador was directly involved in this alleged attempt at bribery and his statements, as well as the threats he allegedly made, must be regarded as "a blatant attempt to prevent further revelations that are dangerous for both the president and the ambassador himself".
Friedman now wants to have the ambassador prosecuted for threats, extortion, defamation and harassment.
Given his position, White normally has diplomatic immunity, but Friedman wishes to have this immunity lifted, at least in part.
“If the authorities (courts/public prosecutor’s office) conclude that Bill White made these remarks in his capacity as ambassador or that he generally enjoys absolute and unlimited immunity, then it is only courteous to request that Ambassador Bill White’s immunity be waived for the purposes of the proceedings relating to the aforementioned statements, or to compel his home state to waive that immunity”, the summons states.
This article was updated to clarify details about Moshe Friedman's background.
