The Belgian magazine Humo’s removed an antisemitic article by author Herman Brusselmans, after it was harshly criticized as antisemitic and incitement to murder.
Following this, the European Jewish Association (EJA) acknowledged the move as "a step in the right direction," but said the legal case against the writer, magazine and publisher would continue "until justice is properly and meaningfully served."
In a Friday statement, EJA chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin said, "The removal of the highly offensive article is a step in the right direction."
"However, the author has shown zero remorse for his 'thought experiment' of murdering any Jew he meets in the street. He continues to regard incitement to murder as his freedom of speech.
"The magazine editors only belatedly decided to remove the offending piece after a massive public outcry."
He stressed, "This is all much too little, much too late."
"The EJA and a coalition of concerned Jewish leaders and organizations in Belgium will continue our legal action against the writer, magazine and publisher. We still demand a full apology from the magazine and the suspension of Mr. Brusselmans.
"A strong, uncompromising response is absolutely necessary lest others think they can also call publicly for the mass murder of Jews. We will not rest until justice is properly and meaningfully served."
In the article, Brusselmans wrote that every time he thinks about the Gaza war, "I get so angry that I want to ram a sharp knife through the throat of every Jew I meet."
He added, "Of course, you always have to remember: Not every Jew is a murderous bastard, and to give shape to that thought I imagine an elderly Jewish man shuffling down my own street, dressed in a washed-out shirt, fake cotton trousers and old sandals, and I feel sorry for him and almost get tears in my eyes, but a moment later I wish him to hell."
The magazine's editor-in-chief justified the decision to run the article, claiming, "With satirical writers such as Herman Brusselmans, the writing should never be taken 100% literally. That is why the editorial staff did not intervene in the text of our columnist."