Belgium: Anti-Zionists burn Orthodox Jew in effigy

Earlier today I posted a story about a far-right protest in Poland where an orthodox Jew was burned in effigy.    An alert reader reminded me that more than a decade ago, a similar incident occurred at an anti-Zionist protest in Belgium.


Via GVA (archived):


In 2002, the Second Intifada was in full swing.  On June 8th, various pro-Palestinian groups organized a demonstration.  The organizers included Abou Jahjah's group, the Arab European League (AEL), the Antwerp Platform for Peace in Palestine, various far-left parties, and the precursor to the Flemish Green party.

600 pro-Palestinians showed up shouting slogans such as "Sharon and Bush: Murderers" and "Boycott Israel".

The police showed up to protect the Jewish neighborhood, as a previous demonstration ended up with a pogrom of sorts. You know how it is.

The organizers, afraid of being called antisemites, stopped anybody shouting "Hamas" and "Hezbollah".  It wouldn't look good to visibly show support for Jew murderers.

The speeches at the protest emphasized that the demonstration was not aimed at the Jewish community of Antwerp or at the Israelis in general and that violence from both sides was being condemned.

Meanwhile, the protesters burned an effigy of an Orthodox Jew.

The newspapers reported about this incident almost as an afterthought.  Nothing was done about it.  In Belgium, apparently, you can burn Jewish effigies with impunity.

Today, Abou Jahjah is a a respectable journalist.  When he was recently invited to a conference hosted by the Belgian Human Rights League, they got really upset at me for daring to call him an antisemite.   How could he be an antisemite?  C'est impossible!


Apparently, burning Jews in effigy is not a problem.  As long as you define yourself as an anti-Zionist.  If you're a racist nationalist, however, then beware, the wrath of the world will come down on you.

Meanwhile, in Belgium, things have changed since 2002, of course. Nowadays, shouting pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah slogans is perfectly acceptable and will not brand you as an antisemite.