BRUSSELS – World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder reacted with shock and horror to the deadly shooting at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels on Saturday. Three people were killed by a gunman who arrived in a car, ran into the museum and fired at various people. Two Israeli tourists from Tel Aviv and a French volunteer died. A fourth person, a 23-year-old Belgian employee of the museum, remains in critical condition despite media reports that he had also died. Lauder condemned the attack and called it “a heinous act of terror clearly was targeted at Jews.”
“Two years after Toulouse, and on the eve of the European elections, this despicable attack is yet another terrible reminder of the kind of threats Europe’s Jews are currently facing. It is therefore of critical importance that the authorities in Belgium do everything to bring the perpetrators to justice as fast as possible, and that they ensure that in the future adequate protection is given to sensitive sites,” Lauder declared.
The international Jewish community expected that everything will be done in Belgium and Europe to prevent further such attacks from happening, he added, urging European leaders to deal with this issue as a matter of priority in the coming weeks.
The WJC leadership also sent a condolence letter to the heads of the Belgian Jewish community and to Israel's ambassador in Belgium.
Belgian Jewish community in shock
“Today, the entire Jewish world mourns the four innocent victims who lost their lives in this horrible attack. Tomorrow, we must all work together to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. If that means to improve security at Jewish sites in Europe, we have no choice. It must be done. If not, more people may be able to carry out such terrible crimes,” Ronald S. Lauder stated.
An estimated 2,000 people gathered on Sunday evening before the Jewish Museum of Brussels to pay their respects to the victims and to express their shock and anger at the murders.
Images of killer released
Meanwhile, Belgian prosecutors called on the public and the media to help them in the manhunt. "We call on the whole population to help identify this person," Deputy Prosecutor Ine Van Wymersch said Sunday. However, the security camera images of the incident do not give a clear view of the man's face.
Van Wymersch said the killer "probably acted alone, was armed and well prepared." A fuzzy photo from inside the Jewish Museum showed the man standing with his legs apart and a Kalashnikov gun held in front of him during the killing spree.
Police detained one suspect late Saturday but he was released and is now considered a witness.
Van Wymersch said "all options are still open" regarding a motive for the shooting but the government said it bore the hallmarks of an anti-Semitic attack.
According to media reports, the gunman had a camera strapped to his chest to film the killings, which is remeniscent of the technique used by Toulouse killer Mohamed Merah.
Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo swiftly condemned the attack and said the nation stood united with its Jewish community of 40,000.
The European Jewish Congress, meanwhile, opened a crisis management center in Brussels "to deal with all aspects of this attack", the organization said in a statement. Several leaders of the EJC crisis management team, traveled to Brussels over the weekend to help coordinate the activity. Updates on the attack are available on the center’s website, which also contains a telephone hotline.
