The Jewish teacher threatened with dismissal – while her colleagues came with keffiyehs

Four testimonies from Belgium reveal a rise in antisemitism: a Jewish teacher threatened with dismissal while her colleagues came with keffiyehs, a resident intentionally run over as he left the synagogue, and an activist afraid to speak Hebrew on the street. The article paints a picture of antisemitism penetrating the establishment, education, and civil society.

An article by Josh Aronson in Maariv presents four testimonies from prominent figures in Belgium – a teacher in public schools, a medical assistant from Antwerp, a social activist against antisemitism, and a veteran senator – describing a rise in antisemitism in the country. The Jewish teacher, Nicolas, says her Muslim colleagues came to work with keffiyehs while she was threatened with dismissal because of her religion, and that a student hit her in the face with his shoe and the school staff claimed "it wasn't done intentionally." A resident of Antwerp describes being intentionally run over by an electric bicycle rider as he left the synagogue in 2025, leaving him with a severe leg fracture. The activist Nehemiah reports graffiti, incitement stickers, and chants calling for "ignite the intifada," and criticizes the government's delay in returning soldiers to guard Jewish institutions. Senator Teitelboim accuses human rights and feminist organizations of silence and complicity in normalizing antisemitism, under the guise of criticism of Israel. The article states that antisemitism in Belgium is no longer a marginal phenomenon but a spreading cancer in the establishment, education, and civil society.