On Tuesday 16th of September 2014 around 6:30 a.m., a fire was reported in our Synagogue rue de la Clinique in Anderlecht. It had started on the second floor of the building, where smoke damages were later observed on the scene by the firefighters. Three people had been slightly poisoned by the smoke and needed immediate care.
Jehuda Guttmann, President of the Jewish community of Anderlecht, wonders about the reasons of this arson: “I don’t know… If this act had been anti-semitic, the criminals would have burned torahs, sacred books. But this is not the case. I am losing myself in conjectures. Here we live in peace with everyone! We are not involved in any kind of trade or industry!” he insists. The synagogue had already been attacked by arsonists in 2010.
Note: The restoration of the synagogue should be completed in April 2015, and we are pleased to invite everyone to its reopening.
Press articles concerning the arson of the synagogue on 16th of September 2014: