Belgian soldiers to protect Jewish sites as Iran war fuels antisemitism

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Rome — Outside the Great Synagogue, in the narrow streets of Rome's historic Jewish quarter, Italian soldiers patrol with automatic weapons slung across their chests. It is part of a visible surge in security following a wave of antisemitic incidents across Europe.

One of those soldiers told CBS News the heightened presence came after recent attacks on Jewish sites, including an explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, last week. The blast caused damage but no injuries, but it was enough to prompt the Belgian government to announce it was deploying military forces to help protect Jewish institutions nationwide.

The soldier in Rome said fewer people were visiting the Jewish neighborhood recently, wary of a repeat of the kind of antisemitic violence seen in Liège and elsewhere in Europe.

Authorities across Europe have reported a rise in antisemitic incidents since the Iran war began, including attacks and threats against Jewish communities in Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

In France, officials said they foiled a suspected terror plot aimed at Jewish targets.

Antisemitism has been on the rise globally since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and the war Israel launched on Gaza in response. Israel and the U.S.'s decision to attack Iran again appears to have reignited antisemitic hatred worldwide.

With Israel directly involved in the widening conflict, Jewish leaders and national security officials in Europe warn the risk of retaliatory or copycat attacks may be increasing again.

Belgium's decision to deploy soldiers marks an escalation in the response by at least one European government.

Following the attack in Liège, Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin called the move necessary and urgent.

"Against a backdrop of rising antisemitism, the attack that took place at the synagogue in Liège served as a stark reminder that the threat facing Belgium's Jewish community is very real," he said. "Ensuring the safety of our fellow citizens is the responsibility of the state in all its forms, regardless of any other political considerations. The deployment of military personnel to reinforce security around Jewish sites will provide direct support to the police."

Belgian officials say the soldiers will assist law enforcement in guarding synagogues, schools, and community centers, particularly in cities with large Jewish populations such as Brussels and Antwerp, providing both deterrence and rapid response capabilities.

"A 400% increase in antisemitic attacks in Italy"

Set into the cobblestones in Rome's Jewish quarter are small brass plaques known as Stolpersteine — German for "stumbling stones." Each one marks the last known home of a Jewish resident deported and killed during the Holocaust.

The small memorials carry a renewed weight today.

"We have a 400% increase in antisemitic attacks in Italy," Livia Ottolenghi, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI), told CBS News, citing a recent report by the organization that looked at incidents during 2025. "Two weeks ago, two Jewish youngsters (in Milan) were attacked physically and had to go to the emergency room."

Ottolenghi said many of the security measures now visible in Italy — armed guards, barricades, controlled access to synagogues and schools — are not new.

Jewish communities across Europe have lived with them for decades.

But now, she said things feel different.

"My personal experience is that for the first time ever in my life, in certain circumstances, I hear myself thinking if it was appropriate to wear the Star of David or not," she said.

The attack in Liège has drawn a strong response from the United States, where the Trump administration has made tackling antisemitism a priority.

U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White visited the scene of the explosion in Liège just hours after the blast, meeting officials and members of the local Jewish community, and publicly condemning the attack.

"I strongly condemn this antisemitic attack on Belgium's Jewish community in the strongest possible terms," he said in a social media post.

"President Donald J. Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the United States stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Liège and across Belgium," White said. "No one should tolerate these attacks."

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