At least eight Chareidim, including four children, have been assaulted in Antwerp in recent weeks.

On Friday, a Muslim man struck a 16-year-old yeshiva bochur who was returning from yeshiva on a main street in Antwerp, knocking off his hat. Shomrim volunteers succeeded in detaining the assailant and transferred him to the police.

Shomrim volunteers say that antisemitic incidents have increased since the outbreak of Operation Roaring Lion.

Tzvi Graskopf, head of the Shomrim organization in Antwerp, sent a calming message to the Jewish kehilla, saying that patrols have been increased throughout the Jewish neighborhoods of the city. The reinforcement comes following an explosion outside a shul in the city of Liège last week.

The mayor of Liège described the incident as a “criminal and antisemitic act.” So far no suspects have been arrested.

In neighboring Netherlands, two antisemitic attacks occurred within two days—an explosion outside a shul in Rotterdam on Friday and another explosion at a Jewish school in Amsterdam overnight Friday.

Dutch police later arrested four young men for allegedly setting off an explosion outside the shul in Rotterdam that caused a fire to break out and damage to the building.

After the blast, police monitored other shuls as a precaution and stopped a vehicle near another building driven by someone matching the description of one of the suspects.

“It is not yet clear whether the suspects planned to detonate an explosive or set fire to another synagogue as well,” the police said in a statement.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)