SHAME
27 August 2026
Dear friends,
You signed the appeal NOT IN OUR NAME, made public on 13 May 2025. In just three days, we collected 729 signatures, to the point that we had to close the collection because the influx of support exceeded our capacity. It was an impressive result and a powerful sign of the importance of critical Jewish voices in Belgium.
The appeal ended with the following words: “As Jews of Belgium, we call on our government and European political leaders to put an end to all complacency towards a criminal state and to impose sanctions proportionate to the gravity of the crimes committed.”
Three months later, the situation is bitterly disappointing. In Gaza, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated even further. What is increasingly difficult not to describe as genocide has reached new levels of cruelty, culminating today in an engineered famine, while hundreds of trucks loaded with food and medical aid remain blocked at the borders. After rejecting several ceasefire proposals, the Israeli government is now openly considering reoccupying the Gaza Strip, supposedly “to finish off Hamas”.
In Europe, positions are beginning to shift, albeit timidly. Germany, Israel’s second-largest arms supplier, has just halted its deliveries. Without waiting for a unanimous position from the European Union, several Member States have begun moving towards sanctions: Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands. France and the United Kingdom, joined by Australia and Canada, have announced that they will recognise the State of Palestine at the next United Nations General Assembly.
A paralysed Belgian government
So things are moving forward… but not in Belgium. The current position of the Arizona government is: no sanctions, no recognition of the Palestinian State, no recall of ambassadors, nothing. Although public opinion is largely in favour, and three of the five parties in the governing coalition have clearly indicated that they want to move in this direction, nothing is happening. This is despite the King’s 21 July speech denouncing the grave abuses in Gaza and describing them as a “disgrace to humanity as a whole”. And despite statements made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs “in a personal capacity”, in the absence of a government agreement. Two parties are blocking any progress in Belgium.
Jewish institutions in denial
For their part, the organisations claiming to represent Belgium’s Jewish community – the CCOJB and the Forum – remain completely silent about Israel’s responsibility for the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Not content with refusing to voice the slightest criticism of the Israeli government, on 21 July they issued a statement criticising the King’s speech. Echoing the narrative of Israeli diplomacy, they reproached King Philippe for failing to mention the Israeli hostages, recall Hamas’s responsibility, or condemn the supposedly “Manichaean” position of the UN Secretary-General. The fate of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in appalling conditions is unquestionably heartbreaking and affects us just as deeply as the suffering endured by the Palestinian population of Gaza. But the facts remain: if all the hostages have not yet been released, it is because Israel broke the truce agreement on 18 March, whose second phase provided for their release in exchange for a ceasefire, something the Israeli government refuses at any cost. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel is under no illusion about this: supported by large numbers of Israelis, they demonstrate every week to denounce their government’s refusal to reach an agreement with Hamas and to demand an end to the war. On 17 August, several hundred thousand people marched in Tel Aviv with these demands.
By echoing the rhetoric of the Israeli government, the CCOJB and the Forum reinforce the idea among the wider public that being Jewish means blindly supporting the State of Israel, whatever it does. Above all, these organisations betray the values of humanism and universality to which we are committed. That is why it is of the utmost importance that, whenever the opportunity arises, we reaffirm: NOT IN OUR NAME.
Let us join the demonstration on 7 September
On 7 September, the “Red Card” demonstration will take place in Brussels at the initiative of a coalition of NGOs and trade unions. Let us turn out in large numbers. Let us bring placards and banners to make a strong Jewish presence visible. Let us show that the Jews of Belgium do not support the horrors taking place in Gaza. While in Israel itself thousands of people are taking to the streets to protest against their government’s murderous madness, we cannot remain silent.
For the “Not in Our Name” collective:
Georges Bauherz
Sharon Geczynski
Henri Goldman
Anne Herscovici
Jonathan Moskovic
Aurélien Ringelheim
Julie Ringelheim
Simone Susskind
Lara Szyper
Olivia Venet