"I felt a stab in the neck, turned around and yelled"
In a special and exclusive interview with Behadrey Haredim, Rabbi Yehoshua Malik, who was attacked by a young nation in Antwerp and stabbed in the neck, relates the ordeal • "By great miracle, an avrech passing in the street saw me and chased the attacker" • "He hit me in a sensitive area, and blood was gushing. But by miracle he did not hit the main artery that could injure me very seriously"
- Eli Schlesinger
- כ"ג חשון התשע"ה
Haredim in Antwerp. Archive photo
Yehoshua Malik, a Belzer avrech, who was attacked in Antwerp this morning (Shabbos) on his way to shull, recalls the moments of fear in a conversation with Behadrey Haredim of fear: "I felt something poking me in the side of the neck, I didn't know what it is. I turned around, and noticed an eager young trying to stab me again and started shouting," he says.
"By great miracle, another yeshiva student who saw me on the street chased the attacker". Malik was on his way to the Beis Midrash of Belz, wearing a shtreimel and tallis, dressed as a Jew - as the rest of the community. Indeed, the Jewish appearance is very apparent in the area, yet until now there were no serious attacks.
The Belz Synagogue – to which Malik was going, is close to the Central Station in Antwerp, and the attack occurred just near there. Apparently, the attacker fled to the train station.
This is not the first attack, but "the first time a Jew is attacked with a knife," says Malik, who was released Saturday afternoon from the hospital. "He hit me in a sensitive area, and much blood gushed. But by miracle he did not hit the main artery that could injure me very seriously."
He said, "This is anti-Semitic attack, there is no other reason that comes to mind for which he attacked me without any provocation on my part."
He was taken to the regional hospital, where he was treated and released several hours later.
During the Holidays season, local police secures the synagogues and Jewish centers with
'Hashmira' security company, but during the year only 'Hashmira' secures the Jewish concentrations and since the stabbing incident, they increased the security in the area.
On a regular Shabbos there are no volunteers at all shuls, but there are always people on the ground. Today, after learning about the incident, all the volunteers were alarmed, and towards the end of the prayer they already secured the streets.
"By great miracle, another yeshiva student who saw me on the street chased the attacker". Malik was on his way to the Beis Midrash of Belz, wearing a shtreimel and tallis, dressed as a Jew - as the rest of the community. Indeed, the Jewish appearance is very apparent in the area, yet until now there were no serious attacks.
The Belz Synagogue – to which Malik was going, is close to the Central Station in Antwerp, and the attack occurred just near there. Apparently, the attacker fled to the train station.
This is not the first attack, but "the first time a Jew is attacked with a knife," says Malik, who was released Saturday afternoon from the hospital. "He hit me in a sensitive area, and much blood gushed. But by miracle he did not hit the main artery that could injure me very seriously."
He said, "This is anti-Semitic attack, there is no other reason that comes to mind for which he attacked me without any provocation on my part."
He was taken to the regional hospital, where he was treated and released several hours later.
During the Holidays season, local police secures the synagogues and Jewish centers with
'Hashmira' security company, but during the year only 'Hashmira' secures the Jewish concentrations and since the stabbing incident, they increased the security in the area.
On a regular Shabbos there are no volunteers at all shuls, but there are always people on the ground. Today, after learning about the incident, all the volunteers were alarmed, and towards the end of the prayer they already secured the streets.
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