Leaflets promoting a Nazi and supremacist ideology were distributed in letterboxes on the UCLouvain campus amid growing antisemitism in Belgium.
The Union of Jewish Students in Belgium (UEJB) announced that racist and antisemitic leaflets had been handed out at the campus in Louvain-la-Neuve on Friday. The organisation lodged a complaint and filed a civil action.
"The message we are sending is clear: zero tolerance of hatred on our campuses," the union said in a press release which it published in collaboration with other student organisations on the campus, following a joint meeting on the matter.
The meeting of all these organisations is a "strong reaction from all students and all campuses [...] against hatred," according to UEJB co-president Gad Deshayes.
The union did not post an example of the leaflets which were handed out to avoid further dissemination.
It has also called on the administrative and academic authorities to take the necessary measures to guarantee the safety of minorities on the country's university campuses, in the face of "a steady rise in antisemitism and racism in Belgium."
UCLouvain's spokesperson said in a reaction that the university "condemns all forms of racism or antisemitism on its campuses," and that it is investigating the incident.
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Simon Moutquin, Ecolo Member of Parliament said on X (formerly Twitter) that he was "deeply shocked to discover that a nauseating antisemitic leaflet has been distributed to certain residents of Louvain-La-Neuve."
He added that the mayor of Ottiginies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Julie Chantry, will ask the police to investigate, and noted that he would be submitting a question to the Home Affairs Minister, Annelies Verlinden.
