Antwerp: Immigrant politicians condemn anti-Jewish attacks
The tenors of the Antwerp immigrant community unanimously condemn the anti-Jewish incidents. "I'm dying of shame," says Nahima Lanjri, municipal council member for the CD&V party. "Every child, every woman, every man who dies in Gaza is one too many. But with threat letters, riots and even arson you don't really further help the people there."
"That arson was really too much," thinks also Fauzaya Talhaoui, who's an independent council member in the city. According to her it's the work of provocateurs.
"The parents and mosque associations must compete against it. For everybody to calm down. It's important now in particular to keep a cool head. With that the right to protest must remain guaranteed. The mothers have shown Sunday that it's possible to protest with dignity."
Fatima Bali, the Greens district alderman in Borgerhout was there Sunday. "We mustn't as politicians stay on the sidelines. We must peacefully let our voices be heard." But Bali also thinks that mayor Patrick Janssens is treating the issue properly and even that he should treat the rioters yet more harshly. "That attempt at arson lies heavily on me. The perpetrators are making it unsafe for everybody in Borgerhout."
Antwerp police have increased supervision in the Jewish neighborhood. Spokesperson Sven Lommaert did not want to give any details. "If everybody would know what we're doing, our efforts would become quite senseless."
Even in normal periods there are already strict security measures in the Jewish neighborhood. [The article here goes on to detail the measures taken by the police and the Jewish community - special patrols, parking bans in front of Jewish buildings etc. Many of these measures are in place since the 80s, when there were several attacks in the diamond sector.]
Meanwhile, the Antwerp police has increased vigilance in the area of the Jewish neighborhood after the incidents of recent days. The national crisis center called for an increased state of alert, seeing the strong impact that the Israeli attack on Gaza is appearing to have in Belgium.
There are more and more protesters in the daily demonstrations and the situation is becoming more explosive, according to Peter Mertens, spokesperson of the crisis center. The alert is not due to a terrorist threat but rather to threats against the public order.
Sources: Standaard, HLN (Dutch)
The tenors of the Antwerp immigrant community unanimously condemn the anti-Jewish incidents. "I'm dying of shame," says Nahima Lanjri, municipal council member for the CD&V party. "Every child, every woman, every man who dies in Gaza is one too many. But with threat letters, riots and even arson you don't really further help the people there."
"That arson was really too much," thinks also Fauzaya Talhaoui, who's an independent council member in the city. According to her it's the work of provocateurs.
"The parents and mosque associations must compete against it. For everybody to calm down. It's important now in particular to keep a cool head. With that the right to protest must remain guaranteed. The mothers have shown Sunday that it's possible to protest with dignity."
Fatima Bali, the Greens district alderman in Borgerhout was there Sunday. "We mustn't as politicians stay on the sidelines. We must peacefully let our voices be heard." But Bali also thinks that mayor Patrick Janssens is treating the issue properly and even that he should treat the rioters yet more harshly. "That attempt at arson lies heavily on me. The perpetrators are making it unsafe for everybody in Borgerhout."
Antwerp police have increased supervision in the Jewish neighborhood. Spokesperson Sven Lommaert did not want to give any details. "If everybody would know what we're doing, our efforts would become quite senseless."
Even in normal periods there are already strict security measures in the Jewish neighborhood. [The article here goes on to detail the measures taken by the police and the Jewish community - special patrols, parking bans in front of Jewish buildings etc. Many of these measures are in place since the 80s, when there were several attacks in the diamond sector.]
Meanwhile, the Antwerp police has increased vigilance in the area of the Jewish neighborhood after the incidents of recent days. The national crisis center called for an increased state of alert, seeing the strong impact that the Israeli attack on Gaza is appearing to have in Belgium.
There are more and more protesters in the daily demonstrations and the situation is becoming more explosive, according to Peter Mertens, spokesperson of the crisis center. The alert is not due to a terrorist threat but rather to threats against the public order.
Sources: Standaard, HLN (Dutch)
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