IN YOUR FACE.'s video: THE JEWZ Benny Fischer from Belgium episode 1

פיתוח והפקה: IN YOUR FACE במאי: גא"י מיכאל כוכב על: בני פישר (Benny Fisher) The Jewish community in Belgium might not be the largest in Europe, but is certainly a central one: Brussels is home to the European Union’s institutions, making it the European “capital of diplomacy”. The Orthodox Jewish community in Antwerp is a significant and influential one. The first Jews arrived in Belgium in the 13th century but the community was decimated in the 14th century due to the Black Plague and subsequently by riots there. In the 16th century, Jews from Spain and Portugal came to Brussels following the expulsion from Spain and developed the diamond trade in Antwerp, a city that later became one of the most important centers in the industry. Despite their economic success, during the early years, Jews there were forced to hold their prayers in hiding. At the beginning of the 18th century, when the Austrians occupied Belgium, Ashkenazi Jews came to Belgium and enjoyed extensive rights under the law. Following Belgium’s independence in 1831, the Jewish religion was granted official standing parallel to that of other religions such as Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. At that time, Jews were living in four major cities: Brussels, Antwerp, Liège and Charleroi. Historically, Antwerp Judaism is more Orthodox, and strongly influenced by Flemish culture, while the Jews of Brussels are influenced more by the French culture and are traditionally more secular. At the end of the 1930s, roughly 66 thousand Jews were living in Belgium and just 10% had the rights of official citizens while the rest were considered to be immigrants. Roughly 28 thousand Jews from Belgium were murdered in the Holocaust but a significant portion, about 25%, were saved thanks to the fact that the locals offered them hiding, particularly in Christian institutions. The Belgian Jewish community is the fourth largest in Europe, and most of the Jews living there are considered to be middle class. There are currently 40 synagogues in the country, 30 of which are located in Antwerp and 10 of which are located in Brussels. Two of those located in Brussels are Reform synagogues. Some consider Antwerp to be the “last shtetl in Europe”. Brussels has seen a number of terrorist attacks in recent years. In 2014, an anonymous man forced his way into the Museum of Belgian Jews and shot three people to death, two of whom were Israeli.