Bill White asks for soldiers at a synagogue in Cureghem while police are still unsure whether the paving stone was thrown deliberately
The US ambassador calls the broken window an antisemitic act, while local police have not yet ruled out an accident.
US ambassador Bill White on Saturday visited the synagogue of the Orthodox Jewish community on Rue de la Clinique in Anderlecht together with his Israeli counterpart David Saranga, Bruzz and La Libre report. During the night of 27 to 28 October a paving stone went through a third-floor window there.
White said it was clearly antisemitism, since it takes a lot of force to throw that high. He said he came at the request of President Trump, wants to raise money for extra security and will ask Defence Minister Theo Francken (N-VA) and Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) to deploy soldiers at the building. He promised an important announcement next week. Saranga drew a link with the commemoration of Kristallnacht a few days later.
The Brussels South police zone is more cautious. Inspector Marc Wachtelaer told Bruzz that no complaint for antisemitism has been filed yet and that two days earlier the synagogue itself was not sure whether the stone had fallen from the roof. Philippe Markiewicz, president of the Central Israelite Consistory, stressed that municipal, regional and federal authorities already do a great deal for the Jewish community. White also said he wants to organise a concert in the neighbourhood with Moroccan ambassador Mohammed Ameur.