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

After the Amsterdam pogrom, calls began to appear on social media for local youth to organize a jodenjacht (Jew hunt); five youths were administratively arrested and then released.

By YUVAL BARNEA NOVEMBER 11, 2024 22:31 Updated: NOVEMBER 11, 2024 22:52

 Antwerp. (photo credit: PLAY MEDIA)
Antwerp. (photo credit: PLAY MEDIA)

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Antwerp police arrested five people on Sunday 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, a special form of arrest used in Belgium as a preventative measure rather than as part of a criminal investigation, it 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.

 Policemen detain a person after youth clashed with Israeli football supporters, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 8, 2024.  (credit: Mizzle Media/Handout via REUTERS)
Policemen detain a person after youth clashed with Israeli football supporters, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 8, 2024. (credit: Mizzle Media/Handout via REUTERS)

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/Parc Harmonie, 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.

Author: Editor

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