By COLlive reporter
Photos: Koninklijk Paleis, joodsactueel.be
King of the Belgians Philippe held a rare, and his first, meeting with the rabbis and officials of the Belgian Jewish community at the Royal Palace of Laeken in Brussels on Tuesday.
Antwerp Chief Rabbi David Moshe Lieberman and Brussels Chief Rabbi Albert Guigui were graciously welcomed by the king who ascended the throne in 2013, succeeding his father King Albert II.
Present were Julien Klener and Philippe Markiewicz, the outgoing president and new president of the Central Israelite Consistory of Belgium (CICB), respectively.
Sources called the meeting historic since no such invitation was extended in the past to the Jewish community. The meeting included a kosher lunch. Judaism is an officially recognized religious denomination since Belgium’s foundation in 1831.
King Philippe was said to have always shown a keen interest in Jewish life in Belgium. He has participated in memorials marking the Holocaust and the deportation of Belgian Jews to the Nazi death camps.
In past interviews, Klener praised the king’s “intellectual curiosity that has led him to take an interest in the diversity of human thought and in the various beliefs and philosophies.”
Also present were Raphael Werner and Eli Ringer of the Forum of Jewish Organizations (FJO) and Maurice Sosnowski, the outgoing president of the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations of Belgium (CCJOB).
Great kudush hashem!
May we hear only good news! Moshiach now!