Assassination of Joseph Wybran In December 1988, Joseph Wybran, head of the
Immunology department at
Erasmus Hospital, became president of the CCOJB. One of the key moments of his presidency surrounded the controversy of the
Auschwitz cross, a moment that led to one of the largest crises in
Judeo-Christian relations since
The Holocaust. On 3 October 1989, Wybran was leaving the hospital when he was attacked in the parking garage. Struck on the head, he died from his wounds the night of 3–4 October. Quickly the motive was deemed to be
antisemitism, with the
Abu Nidal Organization and Polish Catholic extremists being the first suspects. It wasn't until 18 February 2018 that more facts were determined in the case. Due to a
hack in Morocco against a
terrorist network led by Belgian
Moroccan Abdelkader Belliraj, a dossier was on the murder of Wybran surfaced. Since then, Belliraj has confessed to personally killing Wybran. After several delays, a trial for Belliraj and 34 other Islamists began in
Rabat on 26 December 2008.
Response to Anti-Israel protests Protests in Brussels following the
2008–09 War in Gaza marked a turning point for the organization. Then-president of the CCOJB Maurice Sosnowski said "While some people called for the deaths of Jews, minimizing the Holocaust and presenting Jews as the true masters of the world, what was more shocking to us was not the appearance of Belgian democratic representatives in the crowd but the absence of a political reaction to these anti-Semitic protests of another age. Radical
Anti-Zionism is antisemitism because of the calls of hatred of Jews." Affirming that the majority of Belgian Jews supported the idea of a "free, independent, and sovereign
Palestine" , Sosnowski suggested that a
United Nations vote on the Recognition of a Palestinian state does not obscure the fact that
Hamas is inspired by the
Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Following a 2011 protest in front of the
Israeli Embassy in Brussels, the CCOJB "called on protesters to focus their energies on those who want to see Palestinian and Israeli children grow up with mutual respect and accepting one another's differences."
The "Psychodrame Nakba" Affair On 24 May 2008, pro-Palestinian activists organized a performance theatre piece called "Psychodrame Nakba", meant to commemorate the 60th anniversary of
the exodus of 725,000 Palestinian civilians from their homes by Israeli soldiers. During the demonstration, Belgian MP
Thérèse Snoy (
Ecolo) denounced the plight of the Palestinians, the inaction of Europe and the "pressure of certain Jewish groups" that operate "at all levels".
André Flahaut,
Parti Socialiste MP and former
Minister of Defence said "I am determined to fight against all forms of extremism, Nazism, Fascism, whenever and wherever they occur. That's why I'm here." The CCOJB filmed the protest and shared the video. Numerous Jewish organizations condemned the protest, including the Israeli Embassy. Feeling unjustly painted as anti-semitic, Flahaut sued the CCOJB and its president in court. He received one Euro (plus interest) in damages, while the CCOJB and its president aimed to appeal the decision. Snoy declared that she had made "absolutely no antisemitic remarks" and categorically rejected the grave accusation. A later appeal would definitively rule against Flahaut in his case against the CCOJB and its president Joël Rubinfeld. "The Court recognizes that Andre Flahaut's remarks draw a parallel between Israeli policies and Nazism. On the other hand, neither the CCOJB nor its ex-president accused Flahaut of anti-semitism. In the esteem of the court, they did not violate their freedom of expression." This led to criticism of
Brussels-Capital Region' s Council, who authorised the event while at the same time banning a Jewish counterprotest "for fear of not being able to ensure its security."
Nazi apologists The Canvas/Hitler Scandal On 28 October 2008, the Flemish television channel
Canvas planned to broadcast an episode of their culinary show
Plat préféré on the favorite meal of
Adolf Hitler. Many people, organizations and channels were critical of the program putting the former Nazi leader on the same level as
Jacques Brel,
Salvador Dalí,
Maria Callas or
Freddie Mercury. The night before Canvas aired the episode, the CCOJB released a statement denouncing the "indigestible and irresponsible mix of genres that contribute to the
banality of a person who symbolizes absolutely evil" and "the shocking lack of sensibility that those who conceived of this episode" and called upon the channel to pull the program. Hours before the show was set to air,
Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie, the Flemish public broadcasting authority and Canvas' parent company, announced that the episode would be pulled from the air. On 1 December, the VRT made a similar decision to pull an episode of the
satirical series
Man bijt hond, explaining the cancellation saying the episode followed a "powerful
Semite" and mocked the Jewish community's emotional response to "an innocent gas kitchen". Canvas would find itself in the news a few weeks later, this time for its show
Weg met De Soete. For the 27 November 2008 episode involving a guided tour of Berlin, Canvas took out print advertisements in five Flemish newspapers with the show's host Tomas De Soete as a "
Chippendale Nazi" with a
Hitler mustache and doing a
Nazi salute. Reacting to this new situation, the CCOJB decided to send their dossier to the
Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism to have them examine the evidence. In a press release on 25 November 2008 said "the banalization of Nazi iconography used for a visit to the German capital" noting that "the satirical exploitation of Nazi symbols and their irresponsible diversion testify to the distressing degree that our sensibilities and our civic culture can relapse". == Advocacy against antisemitism ==