Leaders of Belgium’s Jewish community attempted to distance themselves from comments made last weekend by Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the Brussels-based head of the European Jewish Association (EJA) and the affiliated Rabbinical Center of Europe, suggesting that European governments should loosen restrictions on firearms ownership to allow Jewish citizens to protect their communities. Belgium’s Chief Rabbi, Abraham Guigui responded by calling the idea “a real danger and unacceptable” since it would put European Jews outside the mainstream and be an admission that governments have lost control of their territory, adding that Margolin had no authority to speak for anyone but himself. The public debate on the issue follows a week which saw several Jewish schools and other institutions in European cities closed due to security concerns and a massive upsurge in European Jewish citizens looking to immigrate to Israel. Read More
