Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 23, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleBelgium has redeployed soldiers in Brussels and Antwerp starting March 23, 2026, to bolster security at Jewish sites following recent antisemitic incidents—including an early-March explosion outside a Liège synagogue and attacks in the Netherlands.
BRUSSELS, March 23 (Reuters) - Soldiers were deployed on the streets of leading Belgian cities on Monday to bolster security for the Jewish community, after what officials said were antisemitic attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The move follows an explosion this month at a synagogue in Liege that authorities called an antisemitic act.
“From today we're putting soldiers back on the streets in Brussels and Antwerp because safety is a basic right,” Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said in a post on X on Monday.
The deployment, in collaboration with federal police, will provide security at Jewish sites including synagogues and schools, Belgian authorities said in a press release last week.
Antwerp "is again a little safer..... the Jewish community too. We say NO to antisemitism!" Francken said on Monday.
The upgrade in security also follows an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam and an explosion at a Jewish school in Amsterdam in neighbouring The Netherlands.
Dutch police have arrested five suspects, aged 17 to 19, over the synagogue attack in Rotterdam.
The U.S. embassy in Oslo was also targeted in a bombing earlier this month branded by Norwegian investigators as an act of terrorism. None of the attacks caused injuries.
A Belgian defence ministry spokesperson said on Monday that soldiers would be deployed in three different phases: First in Brussels and Antwerp, later in Liege.
Rights advocates have raised concerns about possible attacks against Jewish communities around the world following the launch of the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran. Four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organisation in north London were set ablaze on Monday.
(Reporting by Alexander Chituc, Editing by William Maclean)
Belgium deployed soldiers to Jewish sites in response to recent antisemitic attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Soldiers have been deployed in Brussels and Antwerp first, with later deployments planned for Liege.
The decision follows an explosion at a synagogue in Liege and other attacks on synagogues and Jewish schools in Belgium and the Netherlands.
None of the recent attacks, including bombings and arson, have caused injuries.
Yes, the military deployment is in collaboration with federal police to ensure enhanced protection of Jewish sites.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
