Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Belgium Deploys Soldiers to Guard Jewish Sites in Brussels and Antwerp

The shift signals a broader response to a spate of attacks on Jewish sites across Europe.

Overview

  • Belgium has begun a phased deployment of soldiers in Brussels and Antwerp to protect synagogues and Jewish schools alongside federal police, with Liège slated to follow.
  • In Antwerp, a car set on fire overnight is being investigated as a suspected antisemitic attack, and prosecutors said two minors were arrested minutes after the blaze as video evidence is reviewed.
  • The operation follows an explosion outside a Liège synagogue on March 9 and further attacks in the Netherlands, where Dutch police arrested five suspects aged 17 to 19 over a synagogue arson in Rotterdam, and investigators reported no injuries in these incidents.
  • London police are probing fires that destroyed four ambulances linked to a Jewish charity as SITE Intelligence reported an unverified claim of responsibility by a militant collective for that attack and others, which police described as one line of inquiry.
  • Officials say the troops provide visible deterrence under police command rather than replacing normal policing, a step backed by lawmakers and Jewish groups pressing for stronger protection.