Belgium Deploys Soldiers to Guard Jewish Sites After String of Anti-Semitic Attacks

Troops are taking to the streets of Brussels and Antwerp to provide direct support to police forces.

Belgian army personnel patrol a street as part of a deployment of soldiers outside Jewish institutions in Antwerp and Brussels following attacks at Jewish sites in Belgium and other European countries, in Antwerp, Belgium, on March 23, 2026. Yves Herman/Reuters

Belgian soldiers began patrolling the streets of Brussels and Antwerp on March 24 to reinforce security at Jewish community sites in the wake of what officials said were a series of anti-Semitic incidents in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The deployment follows an explosion outside a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège on March 9. Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin described the attack as a “vile antisemitic act that directly targeted Belgium’s Jewish community” in a March 9 post on X.