An Antwerp, Belgium garage owner was condemned by the city’s main Jewish organization for refusing to serve Jewish customers over “Israel’s stance on Russia.”
The garage’s owner Ludo Eyckmans mailed a letter on March 21 to multiple Jewish groups and to the press, including the public broadcaster, outlining his intentions, reported Dutch publication Joods Actueel.
“Since today, our Jewish customers are no longer welcome for maintenance of their vehicles or solving electronic problems,” Eyckmans said in the letter.
Forum of Jewish Organizations (FJO), a Jewish advocacy group based in Antwerp, has attempted for the last few weeks to discuss the situation with the garage owner. According to the organization, they tried explaining to him that Belgian Jews are not Israeli but Jewish, and have no say in Israel’s foreign policy toward Russia.
But Eyckmans refused their overtures on several occasions and has not withdrawn his ban on Jewish customers, FJO spokesman Hans Knoop told Joods Actueel.
As a result, the FJO filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office.
Eyckmans was also denounced by Belgian MP Michael Freilich. Freilich called his actions “disgusting discrimination… based on fake news” and called for action to be taken against the garage owner.