VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBS #1556/01 3241521
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201521Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9708

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 001556 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL/SEAS, EUR/OHI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SCUL IS BE
SUBJECT: BELGIUM: JEWISH LEADERS CONCERNED BY ANTI-SEMITISM 
AND ISRAEL'S SECURITY 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  A diverse range of opinions were voiced 
at the 
October 21 Jewish Leader roundtable.  Anti-Semitism in Belgium 
expresses itself through youth violence and a common fear of 
wearing 
Jewish religious symbols in public since the second intifada 
in 
¶2000.  At one tenth the size of the Muslim community in 
Belgium, 
Jews lack public political support and face an anti-Israel 
bias in 
the media.  The community is concerned with the Obama 
Administration's policies not being sufficiently 
"pro-Israel." END 
SUMMARY. 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Ambassador Howard Gutman hosted 22 diverse leaders 
of the 
fragmented Jewish Community of Belgium on October 21.  For 
even-handed Jewish outreach, the group recommended that he 
address 
both the Flemish and Francophone Jewish communities.  The 
group's 
main concerns were anti-Semitism in Belgium and support for 
Israel. 
 
 
Background on Jewish Community in Belgium 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Approximately 40,000 Jews currently live in 
Belgium.  The 
Jews are geographically fragmented with an estimated 20,000 in 
Brussels, 10,000 in Antwerp, 5,000 in Liege and 5,000 in 
Ghent.  The 
community is also divided into many segments, from reform to 
ultra-orthodox.  The two main umbrella organizations in 
Belgium are 
the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations in Belgium 
(CCOJB) for Wallonia and Brussels and the Forum of Jewish 
Organizations (FORUM) for Flanders. Outsiders see the 
community as 
still "wounded", due to the loss of half the Jews in Belgium 
in the 
holocaust during the Second World War. 
 
Anti-Semitism in Belgium 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU)  The group said that anti-Semitism in Belgium 
manifested 
itself mainly through youth violence.  Fear of violence in 
Brussels 
from Muslim youth often prevents the Jewish community wearing 
religious symbols in public.  With a more concentrated 
community in 
Antwerp, violence is less of a concern.  Anti-Semitic attacks 
in 
Belgium commenced with the second intifada in 2000 and 
continue to 
mirror events in the Middle East.  Violence in Belgium spiked 
during 
Israel's Gaza incursion in January 2009, with 47 anti-Semitic 
acts 
being committed compared with only seven the year before. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Participants asserted that no discrimination exists 
professionally towards Jews, allowing them to reach the 
pinnacle of 
their professions.  Moreover, Belgium is the only country in 
Western 
Europe that has an official law sanctioning denial of the 
holocaust. 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Due to its small size, the Jewish community sees 
itself 
as "electorally irrelevant."  Facing a Muslim community over 
ten 
times larger (500,000 people) the group understood the lack of 
public support by politicians to the community.  Some 
participants 
asserted that the Belgian media is strongly anti-Israel, and, 
by 
association, negative towards Jewish Belgians, reinforcing 
politicians' reluctance to publically appear pro-Israel. 
However, 
in private the Jewish community enjoys considerable 
influence, with 
 
 
the Belgian Prime Minister Van Rompuy choosing to speak at 
the 50th 
Anniversary of a Jewish organisation (CCLJ) over attending 
Ambassador Gutman's welcome reception.  In addition, the 
Belgian 
government led significant restitution efforts to restore 
confiscated finances in the Belgian banking sector to 
survivors in 
the Jewish community. 
 
Concerns about the Obama Administration 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU)  The group was united in support of Israel.  There 
were 
general concerns as to whether President Obama would apply 
even 
pressure on both the Palistians and Israelis, while 
attempting to 
broker peace in the Middle East.  The group was also worried 
by the 
increasing Iranian security threat towards Israel and wanted 
to 
learn more about the Obama Administration's policy on this 
issue. 
 
GUTMAN 
.