For about a century, Belgium’s Jewish community has maintained a minhag of asking the country’s leaders to send Shana Tov greetings, which are then shared with local Jews through community publications. However, antisemitism couched in “concern over Gazans” has reached such epidemic proportions that it seems that today, even offering the Jewish community a simple Shana Tova has taken on political overtones, Yisrael Hayom reported.

Minister-President of Flanders Matthias Diependale recently responded to a letter from the Jewish community by stating, “Thank you very much for your kind request and for bringing your special edition for the Jewish New Year to our attention. We wish you much success with the publication and appreciate your efforts in producing this initiative. After an internal discussion, we regret to inform you that, given the current situation and sensitivities regarding tensions in the Middle East, we are unable to fulfill your request. Anything related, even in the slightest, to this conflict is closely monitored and examined under a magnifying glass. For this reason, we do not think it is appropriate to elaborate on the matter. We hope for your understanding regarding the decision and thank you again for your involvement.”

Members of the Jewish kehilla were shocked by the response, and as word of it became known, it gradually caused a storm of outrage that reached Diependale, who understood that the claim of avoiding wishing a Shana Tova greeting to Jews because of the situation in the Middle East was problematic, to say the least.

However, instead of admitting the mistake and sending a Shana Tova greeting, Diependale sent a letter, this time signed by him personally and not by his office and cabinet of advisors, claiming that he wasn’t sending a Shana Tova greeting because of his “long-standing” position to avoid becoming involved in religious activities.

“I have learned that there has been a stir due to my refusal to comply with the request below,” he wrote. “In light of this, I would like to correct something. My refusal is not due to the situation in the Middle East, as was misrepresented in the following announcement from my cabinet. I would like to share my personal motivation: My refusal stems solely from the principle that for over 15 years in my role as a representative of the people, I have not supported religious activities. I have also never accepted invitations to the Muslim ‘Eid’ holiday. I have also never participated in the ‘Te Deum’ for Catholics, and so on. In doing so, I do not judge any religion or the people who observe it in any way. However, I am convinced that no religion—including my own—plays any role in the fulfillment of my mandate. I hope I can count on your mutual respect on this matter.”

It should be noted that Diependale’s explanation did not clarify why he didn’t avoid issuing a Shana Tova greeting for the past 14 years.

His response incensed the Jewish community, as well as other politicians. “To me, this proves it’s madness and that the cabinet of the minister-president of the Flanders region is influenced by extreme leftists who are either Jew-haters or cowards, or a combination of both,” said MP Sam Van Rooy of the right-wing Vlaams Belang party, who said that the ruling New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party, which supported Israel after the October 7 massacre, is now turning against Israel as a result of pressure from the left in the country, including from some of the coalition parties.

“The letter he sent afterwards rubs salt in the wounds and makes it even worse. He is still not willing to wish Jews a Shana Tova because he wants to be ‘neutral,’ and that’s just nonsense. The minister-president of Flanders is a coward who found more excuses for not wishing Jews a Shana Tova, especially now when Jews are under attack and the level of antisemitism in the streets of Antwerp and Brussels is skyrocketing. This is the time to show support for Jews and wish them a Shana Tova. It’s simply shameful.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)