Belgium has summoned the US ambassador following a recent social media post in which he accused the country of antisemitic prosecution of Belgian Jews. The US Ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, made his comments in a manner that was viewed as confrontational, urging Belgian authorities to overlook the nation’s laws.
“Anti Semitism is UNACCEPTABLE in any form & it must be rooted out of our society. President TRUMP@POTUS, @realDonaldTrump, @JDVance, @VP, @SecRubio, @StateSEAS, @DeputySecState, and I call upon all of Belgium to do a much better job on this subject!” the US Ambassador posted on X.
The ambassador’s reaction occurred when the national broadcaster VRT reported that Belgian authorities are investigating three individuals in Antwerp for allegedly performing circumcisions without certified medical training. US Ambassador Bill White expressed concern regarding the investigation, describing it as “unacceptable harassment of the Jewish community here in Antwerp and in Belgium.” He indicated his intention to visit the three accused individuals in Antwerp and extended an invitation to Belgium’s Minister of Health to accompany him.
“You must make a legal provision to allow Jewish religious MOHELS to perform their duties here in Belgium,” he said.
The ambassador employed a Hebrew term to refer to a Jewish officiant who is specifically trained in the practice of circumcision, which holds significant importance within the Jewish faith. Without this procedure, a Jewish person is generally unable to participate in key life events such as a bar mitzvah, a wedding ceremony, or a burial in a Jewish cemetery. Maxime Prévot, the Belgian foreign minister, remarked that “Belgian law permits ritual circumcision when conducted by a qualified physician under stringent health and safety standards.” He also indicated that he would refrain from further comments regarding the ongoing investigation.
“Labelling Belgium as antisemitic is not just wrong, it’s dangerous disinformation that undermines the real fight against hatred,” said Minister Prévot in a post on X on Monday. The summons is a rare move between staunch allies.
“An ambassador accredited to Belgium has a responsibility to respect our institutions, our elected representatives, and the independence of our judicial system,” Prévot said. “Personal attacks against a Belgian minister and interference in judicial matters violate basic diplomatic norms.”
The minister highlighted that Belgium is home to one of Europe’s oldest Jewish communities, underscoring the significance of this rich cultural heritage.
“We are proud of that. And we will do everything to keep it that way. When a synagogue is targeted, we are outraged. When graves are desecrated, we are disgusted. When Jewish students face harassment, we want consequences. And we act, every day. A national antisemitism coordinator leads an interfederal mechanism where Jewish community leaders sit as permanent partners. Our prosecutors work under explicit zero-tolerance instructions for hate crimes. Courts convict those who spread hatred and Holocaust denial, under laws that go beyond European minimum standards. Our new Criminal Code, entering into force in April 2026, makes discriminatory motive an aggravating circumstance for every single crime. When the threat demands it, we protect,” wrote Prévot in a post on X.
“Since 7 October 2023, every Jewish school, synagogue and community centre operates under reinforced police surveillance,” the minister added.
Belgium’s approach to antisemitism focuses on prevention and education. Schools teach about the Holocaust and antisemitism, and the Jewish Museum brings Jewish culture into classrooms. Football fans who chant antisemitic slurs attend mandatory programmes at Kazerne Dossin. Research on online antisemitism is underway, and police now track antisemitic incidents.
“The investigation into mohels in Antwerp was prompted by a complaint from a member of the Jewish community, while legal ritual circumcisions are performed unimpeded,” explained the minister.
“Presenting this as persecution of Jewish life is a distortion of the facts. And it is part of a pattern. You have taken the real fears of real people and turned them into an argument against Belgium’s foreign policy. Jewish Belgians deserve our full protection. They do not deserve to be used as leverage in a dispute about international law,” Minister Prévot continue.
“Let me be precise. We suspended consular services for Belgian citizens established in settlements that the International Court of Justice has declared illegal. This applies regardless of religion, nationality or background. It is an application of international law, nothing more, nothing less. And let us not be naive about what is really happening here. Ever since Belgium chose to condemn all violations of international law firmly, some Israeli leaders have pursued a campaign of amalgamation, deliberately conflating our principled legal positions with antisemitism.” The minister emphasised that the narrative is false, backed by international and Israeli studies. He cited the 2026 Annual Report from Tel Aviv University, which warns that overusing the term “antisemitism” undermines the fight against real anti-Jewish hatred. The report shows no evidence of widespread antisemitism in Belgium or political support for it.
Furthermore, Jewish representatives in Antwerp report effective cooperation with the police.
This is the second case in a month of a US Ambassador attempting to detect government policies of an EU member state. On 6 February, US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose announced on X that the US would cease all communication with Włodzimierz Czarzasty, the Speaker of the Polish Parliament, after Czarzasty publicly declined to support a nomination of Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Following the unproductive and hostile interference in national politics in Germany, Romania and, recently, Hungary, the US administration has become more aggressive against the EU and its member states, because it cannot tolerate the EU’s values and the respect for fundamental rights that characterise the Union.
These actions by the US administration are perceived as a significant interference in EU member states’ domestic affairs, aiming to destabilise European democracies and the EU.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
