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Belgium is ramping up security for its Jewish community after a recent synagogue attack heightened fears across Europe, as a newly emerged terrorist group with suspected ties to Iran has claimed responsibility for a series of strikes on Jewish targets across the continent.
Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, translated as “The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right,” said it carried out multiple attacks recently, including the March 9 explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, according to a Fox News Digital report. The group also claimed responsibility for an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam, Belgium, and an explosive attack on a Jewish school in Amsterdam. A fourth incident at a Jewish site in Greece has been linked to the group by several sources, though details about that attack remain limited.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said March 15 that “a jihadi group tied to an Iranian proxy” was behind the attacks, adding that “the IRGC continues to sponsor and export terror across the globe,” referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin described the blast outside a synagogue in the eastern city of Liège as a “despicable antisemitic act” that directly targeted the country’s Jewish community.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever responded on X Monday morning, writing, “Antisemitism is an attack on our values and our society, and we must combat it unequivocally. We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Liège and throughout the country.”
Joe Truzman, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the FDD’s Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital that the war in Iran has likely “compelled the group, for whoever is behind this, to start launching these attacks.” Truzman said he “suspect[s] this organization is being directed” and that there is “an entity behind it.”
In response to the attack in Liège, Belgian officials announced increased protection measures.
“To protect our Jewish community, we are deploying military personnel to support security on our streets. The safety of every citizen must be guaranteed,” Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken wrote on X Monday. “Antisemitism and hatred against Jews will never be tolerated. We will stand firm against it, always.”
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The move drew praise from U.S. officials.
“Last week, I urged Belgian officials to adequately protect Jewish communities—thank you, Defense Minister Francken and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prévot, for stepping up with increased security measures,” Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism at the Department of State, wrote, adding that he looks forward to working with Belgian counterparts “to safeguard the Jewish community.”
Under Secretary of State Sarah B. Rogers also welcomed the decision, calling it a rare example of action rather than rhetoric.
“We hear a lot of talk about combating antisemitism and other forms of hatred — but it’s satisfying to see practical action, like this, to guard the public square against brute terrorist violence targeting Jews and others,” Rogers wrote on X. “Liberty in the tweets, order in the streets.”
Belgium has long maintained heightened security around Jewish institutions following past attacks, including the 2014 shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels that killed four people — one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in the country’s modern history.
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Still, Jewish organizations warn the current moment reflects a renewed and dangerous escalation.
“This criminal act against a Jewish house of worship is deeply alarming and part of a broader and troubling rise in antisemitic incidents and violent extremism across Europe,” the World Jewish Congress said in a March 10 statement.
Fox News Digital reporter Beth Bailey and Reuters contributed to this report.
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