2023-12-01 18:59:00
The war between Israel and Hamas is still in the news, while the truce in the Middle East was undermined by rocket fire from the terrorist movement. Conflict is present in all debates, spilling over into our streets and onto social networks. Every word is scrutinized. And this middle of the week, we had new proof. Thursday morning, we went to the Israeli Embassy in Uccle. After going through security, we are taken to Idit Rosenzweig-Abu’s office. The ambassador received us warmly, a few hours following an unfortunate message that shook the Web. “Can I guess your first question? begins our interlocutor. It’s regarding the tweet…”
Mrs. Idit Rosenzweig-Abu has not been a diplomat for around fifteen years and has been stationed in Belgium for a year without taking stock of events. It is indeed impossible to escape it. On Wednesday, the representative of the Hebrew State criticized a montage by our colleagues from Morgen with photos of released Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, who were displaying a Hamas flag and headband. The Dutch-speaking daily headlined: “Israeli or Palestinian, it’s always someone’s father or child. ” The comparison between a child/hostage and a terrorist/prisoner did not sit well with Idit Rosenzweig-Abu, who has been living with extreme stress since the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7 and tweeted faster than his shadow: “Marc Dutroux was also someone’s child,” before quickly deleting the message.
But the Dutroux subject is still sensitive in Belgium. And this created an uproar, which Idit Rosenzweig-Abu sincerely regrets. “This tweet was a mistake. For me, as an Israeli, Dutroux is the name of a criminal. For people in Belgium, it goes deeper than that. He represents the ultimate evil. I’m sorry for using Dutroux’s name. I wanted to give an argument that might not be disputed. And it wasn’t linked to Dutroux. I wish I hadn’t used that name.”
gull
Dutroux represents the ultimate evil.”
The Ambassador then changed the tweet by mentioning Salah Abdeslam, terrorist involved in the Paris attacks in 2015. “When I changed to Abdeslam, it is the exact parallel. The photo in Morgensi you look at it, on one side we see a terrorist with the Hamas flag and headband and on the other, a little girl, alone for 52 days, with a teddy bear. The only difference between him and Abdeslam is that he doesn’t carry a bomb or a gun. He is a terrorist who has declared that he will continue to be one. Putting them together with a title saying they’re all someone’s children was too much for me. The fact that no one thought before publication that we were seeing a little girl with a teddy bear and a terrorist with a Hamas flag, yes, it was exasperating in my eyes, frustrating. ”
In Idit Rosenzweig-Abu’s office, flags of Israel and Belgium are together. ©Bernard Demoulin
The heart of a mother of three children, who had suffered for almost two months, was racing and the message was sent too quickly. But if it was quickly deleted, the message did not escape certain politicians who were quick to use it. Green MP Simon Moutquin criticized the comments while Open VLD vice-president Jasper Pillen said she might not stay in office. Furthermore, the parties located on the left of the board are surprised that Hadja Lahbib, Minister (MR) of Foreign Affairs, did not summon the ambassador. For a tweet immediately regretted and quickly deleted. “I find it quite astonishing that some politicians bother to react to my tweet but do not do so when thousands of people are walking in the streets saying that they are the children of Mohammed Deif (head of the Hamas army in Gaza), regrets the Ambassador. Or that a million shahid (martyrs) march on Jerusalem. On this subject, these politicians say nothing. They obviously found a way to attack Israel through this tweet.”
The De Croo – Netanyahu meeting: “Countries have the right to criticize Israel. And Israel has the right to criticize other countries”
The message was sent as relations between Belgium and Israel appeared to be calmed, following the visit last weekend of Alexander De Croo to Israel, whose comments were poorly taken by Israeli society. “In the Prime Minister’s office, we talked regarding the visit and what happened during it,” explains our interlocutor. We had a very serious conversation. Countries are allowed to give their opinion. Countries are allowed to criticize Israel. And Israel has the right to criticize other countries. This is the nature of foreign relations. In Israel, it surprised many people that when the hostages were to be released, Mr. De Croo gave a press conference. A lot of people thought it was… awkward. But we talked regarding it, and I don’t think we need to talk regarding it once more and once more.”
Alexander De Croo met Benjamin Netanyahu with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez.
Alexander De Croo and Benjamin Netanyahu met during the Belgian Prime Minister’s visit to Israel. “The meeting was supposed to last an hour but it ended up being closer to two hours. The dialogue was deep. Mr De Croo told Mr Netanyahu what he thinks should be done. ”
Since then, Israel has hoped that Belgium will join the international task force aimed at cutting off supplies to Hamas.
The invitation extended to the PTB: “I would like to be invited to their headquarters to show them the video of October 7”
Idit Rosenzweig-Abu distinguishes himself among political figures. “There are different politicians with divergent points of view, different parties with different points of view. I think some parties are so pro-Palestinian that they are blind to terror. There is something wrong with the perception of reality when you compare someone who attacked a person with a knife to someone who was kidnapped on October 7th. It’s worrying.”
Several parties, including Raoul Hedebouw’s PTB, did not want to watch the video concerning the massacres committed by Hamas on October 7. If she has seen it twice and is still upset by it, Idit Rosenzweig-Abu is ready to meet Raoul Hedebouw to show it to him. “I mightn’t say I would be happy regarding it but I would like to be invited to the PTB headquarters to watch this video. There’s nothing wrong with being pro-Palestinian, of course. But some parties have gone from being pro-Palestinian to not recognizing terror. We can be pro-Palestinian and recognize that Hamas represents a danger.”
“The Jews of Belgium are Belgians above all”
Since the Hamas terrorist attacks and the response of the Israeli army seeking to recover the hostages, the conflict and the unacceptable human losses, on both “sides”, have entered the debates not only in Belgium but also in Western countries. . “This is not a war between Israelis and Palestinians. We are friends, assures Idit Rosenzweig-Abu. This is not a war between Israel and the Palestinians but between Israel and Hamas. This is not a war between Jews and Muslims. This is a war once morest Hamas.”
Could we ever see peace reign in the region? “My grandparents come from Iraq, Tunisia and Egypt,” reveals the Ambassador. Israel is my only homeland. Terrible wars have taken place in the past; it ended in peace. After the war with Egypt in 1973, there was peace five years later. No one might have imagined it. I hope we can find a path to peace. But on the Palestinian side, they must abandon the idea “from the river to the sea” (meaning the annihilation of Israel), of which Hamas is the driving force. The Palestinian flag is not threatening to me. This is when I see people supporting the Palestinian cause but also being violent towards anything and everything else…. which caused the death of a person in the USA. What would happen to a person wearing a kippah if they went through this demonstration?”
In Belgium, security has been reinforced around Jewish places of prayer, schools of the Jewish community and its youth movements. The Israeli ambassador saw security tighten around her. “Some people, when they are upset, become violent. This acceptance is confusing. People living in Antwerp showed me messages received this Monday, saying that Hitler would come for them. We receive messages like this at the embassy.”
You can imagine what it means that someone would rather live in Israel when we are in a constant state of war than live in this beautiful country of Belgium…
A national march once morest anti-Semitism will take place in Brussels on December 10, where we hope to see as many people, of all faiths, as in Paris or London. “The Jews of Belgium are Belgians above all,” continues our interlocutor. Currently, people are angry regarding Israel; there is graffiti and physical threats. There are more police at school or at the synagogue. This is not because of Israel’s actions but because people think it’s OK to do this. It is not normal for people in the Jewish community to receive threats. They are not even representatives of Israel. If you are anti-Semitic or support such an ideology, then you are racist. There is no justification for this. I am not organizing the December 10 march once morest anti-Semitism but I hope there will be a lot of people there. I hope to see Belgians say that these actions are not OK. A Jewish child should not be treated any differently from any other child. Security around places of worship, with metal detectors and blocked streets, is not normal. I hope that there will be people to say that the Jews of Belgium are Belgian above all, that they should not be threatened. In the past, there were many Jews who emigrated to Israel. NOW ? I can’t comment. But you can imagine what it means that someone would rather live in Israel while we are in a constant state of war than live in this beautiful country of Belgium…”
Isaid Rosenzweig-Abu during a demonstration in support of the Israeli population. ©DLE
1701462105
#Israeli #ambassador #Belgium #confides #tweet #mistake #Marc #Dutroux
