Binyamin Netanyahu
Binyamin NetanyahuFlash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Saturday night strongly condemned the shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, saying the attack was directly caused by incitement.

“This act of murder is the result of constant incitement against Jews and their state,” Netanyahu said.

“Slander and lies against the State of Israel continue to be heard on European soil even as the crimes against humanity and acts of murder being perpetrated in our region are systematically ignored,” he added.

“Our response to this hypocrisy is to constantly state the truth, continue a relentless fight against terrorism and build up our strength.”

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman also said the attack was a direct result of incitement and said it was connected to “calls for a boycott of Israel and boycotts of Israeli products, activities against Israel in international forums and in an automatic one-sided position against Israel.”

“Throughout history, anti-Semitism has undergone many permutations but the bais always remains the same: hatred of Jews simply because they are Jews, wherever they are, no matter if they live in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ariel, Hevron, Brussels or on Mars."

Economy Minister and Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett responded to the shooting attack by urging world Jewry to embrace - rather than reject - its heritage as a weapon against anti-Semitism.

"Shabbat ends and I hear about a murderous terrorist attack, an anti-Semitic attack at the Jewish Museum in Brussels," Bennett stated, in a Saturday night Facebook post. "Hatred towards Jews has existed for thousands of years, and it reached its darkest hour in the European continent."

Bennett noted that the face of anti-Semitism is changing.

"In this generation anti-Semitism has disguised itself as anti-Israel or anti-Zionist," he said. "Why are there people who hate the Jews? That is just the way it is. Why are there people who hate Israel? That is just the way it is.”