Boortmeerbeek (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Boortmeerbeek Jewish transport liberation commemoration needed to be limited because of the Gaza conflict between Israel and the terrorist movement Hamas. On 19 April 1943, three resistance fighters successfully halted a train to stop its delivery to concentration camps, thus freeing nineteen Jews.
The yearly celebration of Jewish transport liberation in Boortmeerbeek experienced major constraints because of the persistent tensions between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Three members of the resistance group stopped a Nazi concentration camp train on April 19, 1943, by successfully derailing it, which freed nineteen Jewish prisoners.
The traditional participation of family members, Jewish community representatives, and local officials at this event was limited this year due to security considerations. The Belgian Coordination Body for Threat Analysis (OCAD) determined that grouping Jewish individuals together could make them vulnerable to terrorist attacks, which caused authorities to cancel the entire public event.
“According to OCAD, the Coordination Body for Threat Analysis in our country, bringing together a group of Jewish people creates ‘soft targets’ for terrorists. Safety could not be guaranteed,”
said Mayor Michel Baert (SAMEN)
Mayor Baert tells how a minute’s silence was held today by the board of aldermen, veterans and former students of the ULB.
“There was also a bike ride from the monument of the executed in Schaarbeek to here in Boortmeerbeek. That is also the route that the three liberators took during the Second World War.”
The modest ceremony welcomed descendants from the liberation family who trace their lineage to one of the original liberation group members. Although scaled down in size, the municipality maintained the historical importance of the 1943 rebellion as the main focus of this event.
What is the historical and security context behind the scaled-back commemoration?
The 20th Jewish deportation train moving from Belgium to Auschwitz encountered opposition during its route near Boortmeerbeek on April 19, 1943, making it the sole case of European resistance against a Holocaust transport. Youra Livchitz, together with Robert Maistriau and Jean Franklemon, managed to stop the train, which freed 17 of the imprisoned individuals (some resources identify 19 refugees).
The deportation train carried 1,631 people toward Auschwitz but only 145 among them lived through the war. Since 1993, the Boortmeerbeek community has remembered this major event through annual ceremonies that draw participants from descendants of survivors and both Jewish leaders and representatives of the Belgian government.
Most recent years have brought worsening security threats to Belgium’s Jewish community, which numbers approximately 30,000 people. The statistics from the Belgian Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAD) show antisemitic incidents rose by 63% from 2022 to 2023 before tensions surged because of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the Gaza conflict that followed.
Ubiquitous since 2016, the government holds a Level 3 terror threat rating among four possible tiers because of Islamist extremist dangers. The Belgian Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAD) underlined “soft targets” vulnerabilities at Jewish public gatherings when they stopped a terrorist attack against Jewish institutions in Brussels in 2023.
The Flemish municipality of Boortmeerbeek decided to limit access this year because of national security directives, even though it lacks a history of antisemitic violence against its small Jewish population.
Belgian Holocaust memorials, including Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen, adapted security practices for this year despite the community having zero documented antisemitic incidents. The Belgian government dedicates €15 million each year to protect Jewish sites because it prioritises ongoing security despite Belgium’s role in sending 25,000 Jews to Nazi camps during World War 2.
