Belgian-based Holocaust survivors: Jews are packing their bag, we are scared

Rehoma Sluszny, an 84-year-old Holocaust survivor living in Antwerp, told Sky News last week that Jewish people had begun packing their bags to flee amid a spike in European antisemitism.

Antwerp, which reports having the largest Hasidic population in Europe, received 90 reports of antisemitism in the first six weeks following Hamas's October 7 terror attack, according to the report. 

"In Antwerp, the Jews are much more visible with these black coats and big hats, and bunches of boys go by, and they just try to throw the hat on the floor, or when they drive with the bicycle, they try to push them from the bicycle," Sluszny said. "We really feel it - that it's much, much worse than it was before."

Claiming that some people have already packed their bags in anticipation of needing to quickly flee the country, Sluszny said "People who had family who didn't come back from Auschwitz, they are very scared. They think it's going to start again."

Changes in Antwerp Jewish life

Rabbi Chaim Parnas, who supports some 700 families at his Antwerp-based synagogue, told the source that life had changed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

"Since 7 October, there is a heightened police presence in this whole neighborhood," he said. "It's something you feel as you walk around the streets. You actually see the police much more often."

Parnas said that, fearing for their safety, some Jewish families had elected to remove the mezuzahs from their front doors. A mezuzah is a blessing placed on the door frames of Jewish homes.

"I don't know why I have to be afraid to walk down the university corridor and someone's going to shout 'Dirty Jew,'" the rabbi said. "But for some reason that's legitimate as long as I'm Jewish. I became part of the conflict, and I am a target for those who are anti-Israel."

A Jewish teenager, identified only as Daniel, told the source that he had been chased by a group of fellow youths who yelled at him "You want to die? We'll kill you!"

"There's a lot more security in the school and there are always police outside in case something happens," Daniel said. "I don't think it's a normal thing that outside of school there should always be police and extra security for protection."

The antisemitic incidents have reportedly extended beyond street harassment, as Jewish graves in Charleroi cemetery were vandalized in November.