Long before he perfected the use of lawfare to hound Israelis abroad, Belgian-Lebanese anti-Israel activist Dyab Abou Jahjah was already seen as “one of the most dangerous figures” for modern European Jews, according to a community activist from Antwerp.
Versatile, charismatic and persistent, Abou Jahjah, a 54-year-old Hezbollah supporter, has a track record of making antisemitic statements and calls to violence. Last year, he founded the Hind Rajab Foundation in Brussels to mount legal action against Israelis on disputed war crimes charges.
A newcomer among anti-Israel NGOs, HRF has brought passionate intensity to its legal campaign against Israeli soldiers, bringing charges against them when they travel to foreign countries.
To many, the ability of Abou Jahjah to hijack justice authorities and achieve a celebrity status despite his record is symptomatic of a broader bias that’s turning Belgium—and Western Europe—increasingly inhospitable not only to Israelis, but to Jews in general.
Over his 20-year career, Abou Jahjah has skillfully used the language of human rights and international law to cast himself as a modern-day Che Guevara to Western audiences. At the same time, he has employed antisemitic rhetoric and glorified violence to gain Muslim support.
Abou Jahjah’s rise reflects “the multiple failures that now threaten the future of Belgium’s Jewish community, as well as the fabric of its society,” said Michel Kotek, head of Belgium’s Jewish Information and Documentation Center.
An alleged ex-fighter for Hezbollah who has admitted lying to obtain Belgian citizenship, Abou Jahjah has become a media-savvy intellectual there while also working as a high school teacher.
So far, HRF, though reaping a public relations windfall, has not persuaded any country to charge an Israeli. HRF’s most recent achievement was getting Belgian federal prosecutors to have police question two Israelis at the Tomorrowland music festival last month. They were released without restrictions, but prosecutors referred their cases to the International Criminal Court, the Belgian media reported on Wednesday.
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Author: Ruth King
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