Antwerp police arrest five, as fears of a 'Jew hunt' rise following calls to action on social media

Antwerp police arrested five people as part of proactive operations against a suspected “Jew hunt” following calls to action on social media, according to De Morgen.

A police spokesperson told De Morgen that five people had been put under administrative arrest on Sunday, a special form of arrest used in Belgium as a preventative measure rather than as part of a criminal investigation, which can last up to 12 hours.

All five were released from administrative arrest that night in accordance with Belgian law.

Belgium was not immune from the global rise in antisemitism stemming from Hamas’s October 7 attacks. City authorities recorded over 90 reports of antisemitism in the first two months of the war, according to a Sky News report. In the same report, residents highlighted that they were much more visible as the majority of the community is haredi (ultra-Orthodox).

Calls for a 'Jew hunt'

After the Amsterdam pogrom, calls began to appear on social media from Thursday to Friday for local youth to organize a jodenjacht (Jew hunt).

The calls pushed the youth to target Antwerp’s Jewish Quarter, specifically meeting at Harmoniepark, just south of the city’s Jewish Quarter.

In order to avoid frightening the locals, police did not publicize the calls for violence in the neighborhood, according to The Brussels Times.

Police visibly patrolled the area on Sunday night, even going as far as launching a police drone to monitor the area.

Police checked groups behaving suspiciously. Anyone found in possession of flags, balaclavas, or other material that could point to imminent action risked an administrative arrest. The same applied to those who did not respond to police requests to leave the area.

The spokesperson also said that there were several minors among those arrested.

Police said that there were no incidents recorded on Sunday.

Police also identified the social media posts as belonging to a 17-year-old, who was detained and questioned. He was released after questioning.

Shmira, the local Jewish security patrol, was also active on Sunday with about 20 officers deployed, according to De Morgen.

Recent posts on social media have raised the fear of attacks on Jewish residents of Antwerp; however, De Morgen found that these posts largely date to before last week’s pogrom.

In one video, a young man can be seen being attacked and beaten as his attackers shout, “Free Palestine.” De Morgen confirmed that this video was dated to a few weeks ago and that the man has yet to file a police report. His mother told local media that the attackers were lying in wait for him.

In another video, a Jewish man cycling through central Antwerp was attacked. Antwerp Police confirmed they were investigating this incident.

Police said that at this time, no charges had been filed and encouraged anyone who was a victim of a hate crime to come forward and report it.

Outgoing Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt tried to reassure the Jewish community following the Amsterdam pogrom in a meeting on Sunday. He told them that the Belgian anti-terror service was working to stop copycat attacks.

“Can this happen in Belgium? The honest answer is: Why wouldn’t it happen here? We have to be realistic about that.”

Belgian PM Alexander De Croo also spoke out against the violence, saying, “There is no place for antisemitism in Europe.”