Belgium’s previous prime minister faced accusations of antisemitism after complaining in an interview that the kingdom has become a country “of Antwerp diamond dealers.”
Elio di Rupo, a socialist politician who served as Belgium’s prime minister from 2011 to 2014, was accused of dog whistling in an interview published on Friday in the L’Echo newspaper.
“Belgium cannot be governed the way it is today: solely for the richest and most powerful,” Di Rupo said. “It’s a Belgium of Antwerp diamond dealers that we have today when we need a much more pluralistic Belgium. It’s an unapologetic right-wing policy that presumes to know everything, but is belied by statistics.”
The diamond district of the Belgian city of Antwerp for decades was dominated by Jews. However, since the 1980s, Jewish traders have gradually been replaced by south Asians, who now are believed to outnumber the Jews.
In an editorial op-ed on the news site Juif, the writer accused di Rupo of dog whistling about Jews. But even if this was not his intention, the writer continued, “he could have said what he wanted to say differently instead of pouring oil on the fire of a certain kind of antisemitism.” The op-ed originally appeared on the blog “Philosemitism.”
Di Rupo in 2015 came under scathing criticism by Jews when he wrote on Twitter: “I am Charlie, I am Jewish, I am Palestinian” following the murder of four Jews in Paris by an Islamist who cited Israel’s actions as his motivation for the murders.
