Behind the Headlines the Jews of Belgium

Two matters are agitating the Jews of Belgium currently. One is temporal, the other timeless; one is mundane and the other spiritual; one concerns the community in one city, the other deeply affects the entire Jewish populace.

The bustling harbor-city of Antwerp has, for generations, also harbored the legendary “diamantaires” (diamond-dealers) who had made Belgium a world center for cutters, polishers, and traders of precious stones.

When Antwerp Jews, half of whom work in the diamond trade, returned after World War II to resume their lives and their highly specialized business, they were promised certain privileges,

This past February, the axe fell when police seized the records of Antwerp’s prominent money exchange firm, Roger Kitchen and Company, and accused it of tax fraud relating to its dealings on behalf of 800 diamond dealers.

The affair, which involves more than a billion dollars in transactions, is considered among the country’s largest fraud cases since World War II. The dealers are threatening to leave Antwerp in response to the

A DISTURBING RELIGIOUS AND MORAL ISSUE

While this severe financial problem was upsetting the Antwerp community, a more profound

According to David Susskind, president of the CCLJ (Centre Communitaire Laic Juif) of Brussels, most Belgian Jews met their deaths in Auschwitz, including his own mother who died there at the

The idea of the nunnery, he declared, had originated with the present Pope John Paul II, when he was Cardinal of Cracow. The church entered into negotiations with the Polish government in 1984 and shortly thereafter, the nuns (now 12 in number) began their

Susskind and the other Belgian Jews this past February met in Cracow with Cardinal F. Marcharski and later with the Polish Minister of Religion to protest vehemently “this affront to the memory of the vast majority of victims

Susskind reported that both the Cardinal and the Minister expressed surprise that this “holy” enterprise should evoke international indignation and a condemnatory resolution of numerous Jewish organizations. They both promised to reconsider

There are prominent Catholics as well who view the situation with concern. Cardinal Decourtray of Lyon, France, stated last September that “Nazi barbarism was inflicted primarily on the Jewish people, even if there were victims of other faiths at

LOSS OF JEWISH IDENTITY

Some 5,000 Belgian Jews “disappeared” in the last 10 years, Susskind disclosed; not in

But even this relatively small number makes a considerable impact on current international social and moral issues as they relate to Judaism. It will be recalled that Brussels was the scene of the two extraordinary World Conferences on Soviet Jewry, in

The opposite is true in Antwerp which has a strong Orthodox and Hasidic influence. Attitudes toward Israel and in sharp contrast as well, with Antwerp Jews totally supportive of Israel no matter what the issue, while their fellow-Jews in the capital are much more

EXCELLENT BELGIUM-ISRAELI RELATIONS

Relations between Belgium and Israel are excellent, states Israel Ambassador Joseph

Hadass pointed with pride to the fact that he had managed to arrange for the first time a united Israel Independence Day celebration this year, considering this a giant stride forward in bringing together and

Concerning the media, Hadass finds the press to be “rather provincial” in view of the fact that Brussels is considered the capital of Europe, housing as it does the European Economic Community and NATO. He estimates the leading daily, Le Soir, to be quite negative

Jewish leaders feel that Belgian TV is much more pro-Palestinian than the press and more influential in molding opinion. The bi-weekly journal Regards, published by the CCLJ is held in high esteem by most Jews and many non-Jews for its intensive and wide-ranging exploration

In politics, the Jewish community plays no role at all. Their pipeline to the government is almost nonexistent; with the one notable exception of Jean Gol, the Minister of Finance.