Belgium to deploy soldiers to help protect Jewish sites as war with Iran fuels rise in anti-Semitism

Rome — Outside the Great Synagogue, in the narrow streets of Rome’s historic Jewish quarter, Italian soldiers patrol with automatic weapons slung across their chests. It is part of a visible increase in security after a wave of antisemitic incidents throughout Europe.

One of those soldiers told News themezone that the increased presence came after recent attacks on Jewish sites, including an explosion at a synagogue in Liege, Belgium, last week. The explosion caused damage but no injuries, but it was enough for the Belgian government to announce that it was deploying military forces to help protect Jewish institutions across the country.

The soldier in Rome said there had been fewer people visiting the Jewish quarter recently, fearful of a repeat of the kind of anti-Semitic violence seen in Liege and other parts of Europe.

Authorities across Europe have reported a rise in anti-Semitic incidents since the war with Iran began, including attacks and threats against Jewish communities in Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

In France, officials said they foiled an alleged terrorist plot targeting Jewish targets.

Anti-Semitism has been on the rise globally since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the war Israel launched against Gaza in response. Israel and the United States’ decision to attack Iran again appears to have reignited anti-Semitic hatred around the world.

With Israel directly involved in the widening conflict, Jewish leaders and national security officials in Europe warn that the risk of retaliatory or copycat attacks may be rising again.

Belgium’s decision to deploy soldiers marks an escalation in the response of at least one European government.

After the attack in Liège, Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin described the measure as necessary and urgent.

“In a context of rising anti-Semitism, the attack that took place at the Liège synagogue served as a stark reminder that the threat facing Belgium’s Jewish community is very real,” he said. “Ensuring the security of our fellow citizens is the responsibility of the State in all its forms, regardless of any other political considerations. The deployment of military personnel to reinforce security around Jewish sites will provide direct support to the police.”

Belgian officials say the soldiers will help law enforcement protect synagogues, schools and community centers, particularly in cities with large Jewish populations such as Brussels and Antwerp, providing both deterrence and rapid response capabilities.

“A 400% increase in anti-Semitic attacks in Italy”

On the cobblestones of Rome’s Jewish quarter are small brass plaques known as Stolpersteine, which in German means “stumbling stones.” Each marks the last known home of a Jewish resident deported and murdered during the Holocaust.

Small commemorative monuments have renewed weight today.

“We have a 400% increase in anti-Semitic attacks in Italy,” Livia Ottolenghi, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI), told News themezone, citing a recent report from the organization that analyzed incidents through 2025. “Two weeks ago, two young Jews (in Milan) were physically attacked and had to go to the emergency room.”

Ottolenghi said many of the security measures now visible in Italy — armed guards, barricades, controlled access to synagogues and schools — are not new.

Jewish communities across Europe have lived with them for decades.

But now, he said, things feel different.

“My personal experience is that for the first time in my life, under certain circumstances, I hear myself thinking about whether it was appropriate to wear the Star of David or not,” he said.

The attack in Liège has provoked a strong response from the United States, where the Trump administration has made the fight against anti-Semitism a priority.

The United States Ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, visited the explosion site in Liege within hours of the explosion, met with officials and members of the local Jewish community, and publicly condemned the attack.

“I strongly condemn this anti-Semitic attack against the Jewish community of Belgium in the strongest possible terms,” ​​he said in a social media post.

“President Donald J. Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the United States stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Liège and throughout Belgium,” White said. “No one should tolerate these attacks.”