Belgian author: 'I want to ram a sharp knife through the throat of every Jew I meet'

Belgian columnist Herman Brusselmans expressed violent anti-Semitic sentiments in his column, sparking calls for investigation and condemnation.

A Belgian author and columnist wrote in the Humo Magazine on Sunday that, at times, he wanted to stab every Jew he encountered as revenge for violence between Israel and Middle Eastern terrorist groups.

In his column in the Dutch-language weekly satire magazine, Herman Brusselmans described his mood swings over his fears that a "Third World War is coming" because of a "small, fat, bald Jew" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who wanted to wipe out "the entire Arab world."

"For every Hamas or Hezbollah fighter killed by that Israeli shitty army, hundreds of innocent civilians are killed, and we can do nothing but keep repeating that many of them are children," wrote Brusselmans, adding that he imagined that those killed were his son or girlfriend. "I get so angry that I want to ram a sharp knife through the throat of every Jew I meet."

People take part in a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas continues, in Brussels, Belgium, November 11, 2023. (credit: YVES HERMAN/REUTERS)

Brusselmans gave a caveat that one had to remember that "not every Jew is a murderous bastard." To temper his feelings, he imagined feeling sorry for an elderly Jew but wishing him hell because of his mood swings.

Israel's ambassador to Belgium responds

Israeli ambassador to Belgium Idit Rosenzweig-Abu responded on social media that if such comments were made against Muslims rather than Jews, they would not be accepted by society.

What if someone said in Belgian press “I’m so angry I want to stick a knife in the neck of every Muslim I meet”?

Herman Brusselmans did????. In Belgium press @Humo

But relax! it wasn’t about Muslims, it was just about Jews.

In a country where Jews are attacked daily and 70%… pic.twitter.com/gAZrBRr0dG

— Ambassador Idit Rosenzweig-Abu (@IditAbu) August 6, 2024

"How did this pass editing? Antisemitism and legitimization of violence have to be a red line even for an 'intellectual’s' verbal tantrum in a left-wing magazine," Rosenzweig-Abu said on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.

Israeli academic Emmanuel Navon said that the article was incitement and called on the Belgian Police to investigate the columnist.