2023-10-10 04:40:26
This Monday, several hundred people met in front of the Israeli embassy in Brussels. A demonstration at the initiative of the Coordination Committee of Jewish Organizations in Belgium (CCOJB) following the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas in Israel. An attack which has so far resulted in 1,100 deaths on both sides of the conflict and which now plunges the Middle East into what Benjamin Netanyahu calls a state “of war”.
But beyond the devastating images that reach us, the gathering in front of the Israeli embassy is intended to be a moment of contemplation. About 1000 people gathered.
This sadness is tinged with anger or even rage and revolt
“We are devastated since what happened and today we want to gather together. In a union, in a fraternity. We are very moved, we are very sad”, explains Yves Oschinsky, president of the CCOJB at the microphone of Corentin Laurent. Added to sadness is anger, he explains: “This sadness is tinged with anger, even rage and revolt in the face of this blind terrorism.” For Yves Oschinsky, the emotion is similar to that he felt during the terrorist attacks in France and Belgium. He mentions in particular the 260 young people found dead after the attack on the festival in which they were participating.
In the middle of the compact crowd, we can see signs reading: “Hamas = Daesh”.
For the president of the CCOJB, to the fear and anger is added the concern of families living in Belgium but also of those in Israel who worry about their children “young and old who are called back to the front, reservists. There are deaths. With a counter running completely crazy […] and then these hostage takings which are horrible […]”.
At Jean-François Herbecq’s microphone, many of them share the same distress, the same pain. “I am devastated because there are no excuses. Regardless of people’s political beliefs, I believe there are no excuses for this. This level of barbarity is rarely reached “, says a young woman.
It seems that the story is stuttering
Michel, who came to support the rally, is in the same state of mind, he wants “express his feeling of revolt in the face of the barbaric acts where they attacked Jews.” “It’s mainly anger” what Michel feels as he speaks in the middle of the crowd. He explains that he had the impression that things were moving forward with the normalization of relations, particularly with Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Here, “We have the impression of finding ourselves 50 years ago. It seems that history is stuttering”he said.
The fear of war too
And then beyond the emotion, there is the very real fear of war which plunges into uncertainty. How long could it last and how intense could it be? “We don’t see the end quickly and each time it’s a fear for lives. […] It’s terrible to live in this worry”lance Yves Oschinsky.
Faced with the feeling of insecurity, and the fear of an increase in anti-Semitic acts, the president of the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations in Belgium requested that security be reinforced. “Community security, our security is already increased and the police, the Ministry of the Interior, the Brussels mayors, the Brussels police zones, everyone is perfectly aware of the seriousness of things,” he said. Indeed, he calls for increased vigilance due to the context.
1696916910
#War #Middle #East #contemplation #feeling #anger #front #Israeli #embassy