History of the Jews in Antwerp
A new group of Jewish immigrants started to settle in Antwerp in the early 16th century, when the city became a relatively safe haven for crypto-Jews fleeing the persecutions and the expulsions in the Iberian Peninsula.
The first Jewish public prayers were held in the private home of Moise Kreyn, having received the approval of the city authorities.
On April 14, 1941, the so-called "Antwerp pogrom" occurred when some 200 followers of the Vlaams Nationaal Verbond ("Flemish National Union"), Volksverwering ("People's Defense"), Anti-Jewish League and other pro-Nazi anti-Semitic groups burned two synagogues in the Oostenstraat, smashed the windows of Jewish-owned shops, damaged religious symbols and harassed the Jewish population.
[6] In May–September 1942, some 1500 Jewish men from Antwerp were taken into forced labor in Northern France, building the "Atlantic Wall" for the Organisation Todt.
The majority of residents identifying themselves as Jewish belong to traditional or Orthodox communities, although levels of religious practice vary.
The Haredi, or ultra-orthodox Jews, traditionally tend to live concentrated in the city center in an area south of the Antwerp Central railway station.
Its main attraction is its close proximity to the diamond bourse, where in earlier days a large part of the community worked.
There has also been small but steady growth of Orthodox satellite communities in suburbs such as Edegem due to the hard work put in by Chabad chliach, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hertz, Wilrijk and Brasschaat.
An essential difference between these two organizations is apparent in the Shomrei Hadas' alignment with religious Zionist doctrine, which the Machzikei Hadass rejects.
The presence of this eruv allows Jews to interpret the city as one big house, making it easier to avoid breaking some Sabbath regulations within it.
The Yesode Hatora - Beth Jacob population is composed primarily of students from Hasidic, Haredi, and Orthodox backgrounds.
Similar to Yesode Hatora/Beth Jacob, the Yavne school follows a dual curriculum composed of religious and secular studies.
An estimated 98% of Yavne students typically emigrate to Israel (commonly referred to in Jewish communities as "making aliyah") within one year of graduation from secondary school.
The Tachkemoni is a fully co-educational school, attracting students from primarily secular Jewish backgrounds and some modern-Orthodox families.
The famed Haredi Etz Chaim Yeshiva, where hundreds of young men from around the world study, is now located in the Wilrijk district, having previously been in the Antwerp suburban towns, first of Heide, then Kapellen.
Instead, in line with the people they worked with in the diamond trade, they spoke French, the language of commerce in Antwerp until after World War II.
After World War II, Belgian Jewish survivors as well as others from Eastern Europe settled in Antwerp and built up an influential and highly successful stake in the diamond business.
With easy access to manufacturing centers in India, where production costs are significantly cheaper, the Jewish community has lost some of its influence as far as the diamond trade is concerned.
