Belgian publisher has removed an opinion column in which the writer, Herman Brusselmans, said that the humanitarian suffering in Gaza made him want to “ram a sharp knife through the throat of every Jew I meet.” Brusselmans described the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “short, fat, bald Jew” who “for whatever reason wants to ensure that the entire Arab world is wiped out.” He later defended his words as being protected under free speech. The magazine has called the piece satire, and earlier refused to take it down or apologize.
Humo, a weekly Dutch-language magazine, according to its publisher DPG Media Group, “provides in-depth background pieces to the news of the day” while doubling as a guide to arts and culture. "... It was of course never the intention to hurt the Jewish community. If that did happen, we would like to apologize for it. ...” Humo’s deputy editor-in-chief wrote in a statement.
The Brussels-based European Jewish Association (EJA) founder and chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin said: “Jews feel the atmosphere is as it was in the 1940s. Now again Jews are asking themselves: has the time come to run away from Europe when we see this kind of article?”
Legal action to go forward this week
Belgian Jewish organization has brought successful legal cases against both a former Belgian MP, Laurent Louis, a Holocaust denier, and French comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala for antisemitic hate speech.
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https://www.jns.org/belgian-publisher-takes-down-stab-every-jew-column-amid-outcry-lawsuit-threat/
Belgian publisher has removed an opinion column in which the writer, Herman Brusselmans, said that the humanitarian suffering in Gaza made him want to “ram a sharp knife through the throat of every Jew I meet.”
Brusselmans described the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “short, fat, bald Jew” who “for whatever reason wants to ensure that the entire Arab world is wiped out.”
He later defended his words as being protected under free speech.
The magazine has called the piece satire, and earlier refused to take it down or apologize.
Humo, a weekly Dutch-language magazine, according to its publisher DPG Media Group, “provides in-depth background pieces to the news of the day” while doubling as a guide to arts and culture.
"... It was of course never the intention to hurt the Jewish community. If that did happen, we would like to apologize for it. ...” Humo’s deputy editor-in-chief wrote in a statement.
The Brussels-based European Jewish Association (EJA) founder and chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin said: “Jews feel the atmosphere is as it was in the 1940s. Now again Jews are asking themselves: has the time come to run away from Europe when we see this kind of article?”
Legal action to go forward this week
Belgian Jewish organization has brought successful legal cases against both a former Belgian MP, Laurent Louis, a Holocaust denier, and French comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala for antisemitic hate speech.