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Sep 30, 2024 · There are six Ashkenazic rite synagogues in Antwerp. The biggest is Romi Goldmuntz . The Shromei ha-Das (Guardians of the Law) Synagogue, with over 6000 members, and the Israelitische Gemeente van Antwerpen, founded in 1904, represent the city’s Jewish community.
This is a list of Jewish populations in different cities and towns around the world. It includes statistics for populations of metropolitan areas, as well as statistics about the number of Jews as a percentage of the total city or town population.
- Early History
- 16th-19th Centuries
- The Holocaust Era
- Post-World War II
- Modern Community
- Relations with Israel
- Brussels
- Antwerp
- Bibliography
Much of Jewish settlement in Europe began with the Roman conquests. Jews followed the path of the Roman legions to Belgium in the years 53-57 CE. Written evidence, however, only dates back to the 13th century. Hebrewtombstones and street names like “rue des Juifs” have been traced to 1255. Other sources mention Jews as early as 1200 in the Brabant ...
Jews returned to Belgium in the early 16th century after the Spanish and Portuguese expulsions of the 1490s. Many Sephardim enjoyed rights and safety as “New Christians“ (converts to Christianity, many of whom still secretly practiced Judaism) and concentrated their presence in Antwerp, bringing with them the skills of the diamond trade. Marranos, ...
At the outset of World War II, more than 100,000 Jews were in Belgium, including 55,000 in Antwerp and 35,000 in Brussels, with smaller communities in Ghent, Liege, Arlon, Mons, Charleroi, Namur, and Oostende. At least 20,000 were German refugees who, along with thousands of others, hoped to flee to the United States. On May 10, 1940, Nazi Germanyi...
In the decades after World War II, thousands of Jewish refugees from Eastern and Central Europe made their way through Belgium, most awaiting immigration permits to other countries of permanent settlement. Belgium slowly rebuilt its infrastructure, the Jewish community included. By 1970, Belgium’s Jewish population numbered about 40,000, primarily ...
Today, the total Jewish populationin Belgium is approximately 30,000, with a high concentration in Brussels and Antwerp. Small Jewish communities exist in Charleroi, Oostende, Ghent, Liege, Mons, Arlon, Waterloo and Knokke. Jewish culture remains strong throughout Belgium. There are more than a dozen Jewish schools, five Jewish newspapers and more ...
In 1947, Belgium voted for the partition of Palestine and the creation of a Jewish State at the United Nations General Assembly. Belgium was also among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Due to the large Arab-Muslim community in Belgium (20% of Brussels; citizens were born in Muslim countries), the Middle East confli...
Approximately 15,000 Jews live in the French-speaking capital of Belgium. The population has stabilized in recent years due to a low birth rate and a high rate of assimilation. Nevertheless, Brussels has more than a dozen synagogues, representing all streams of faith, from Reform to Orthodox and both Ashkenazi and Sephardi. There are three Jewish s...
Flemish-speaking Antwerp (18,000 Jews) has one of the largest ultra-Orthodox communities in the Diaspora. For this reason, Antwerp is sometimes regarded as the last shtetl in Europe. The city’s 30 synagogues are all Orthodox. These include the Hollandse Synagogue on Bouwmeesterstraat, which was built in 1893, and the Oosten Synagogue on Oostenstraa...
E. Ouverleaux, Notes et documents sur les Juifs de Belgique sous l’ancien régime (1885); S. Ullmann, Studien zur Geschichte der Juden in Belgien bis zum XVIII. Jahrhundert (1909); idem, Histoire des Juifs en Belgique jusqu’au 19e siècle (1934); E. Ginsburger, Les Juifs en Belgique au XVIIIe siècle (1932); J. Stengers, Les Juifs dans les Pays-Bas au...
A notable community is the Jewish one, as Antwerp is one of the only two cities in Europe (together with London and its Stamford Hill neighbourhood) that is home to a considerable Haredi population in the 21st century.
Largest Jewish Populated Metropolitan Areas in the United States. (2024) Table of Contents | World Jewish Population | U.S. Jewish Population. *Rank by total Jewish and non-Jewish population. The Data are for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA’s) as defined by the US Census Bureau. Source: Ira M. Sheskin & Arnold Dashefsky.
Rank*AreaPopulation(total)Population(jewish)1New York - Newark - Jersey City, NY - NJ ...19,557,3112,188,1002Los Angeles - Long Beach - Anaheim, CA12,872,322674,7003Chicago - Naperville - Elgin, IL - IN - ...9,274,140322,0804Dallas - Fort Worth - Arlington, TX7,943,68575,005Mar 29, 2016 · Brussels has only 20,000 Jews — the same as Antwerp and approximately half of the entire Jewish population of Belgium. Yet it is an international leader in Jewish intellectual ferment thanks to a cultural scene that is among Western Europe’s most vibrant.
Dec 19, 2002 · There are between 15,000 and 20,000 Jewish citizens in Antwerp now, whereas before the Second World War, there were more than 55,000. The Jewish presence in Antwerp is certainly not a new...
