Belgium summoned the U.S. ambassador on Tuesday over a social media post in which he accused the country of antisemitic prosecution of its Jewish community, the kingdom's foreign minister said.
"Labeling Belgium as antisemitic is not just wrong, it's dangerous disinformation that undermines the real fight against hatred," said Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot in a post on X on Monday.
The summons is a rare move between staunch allies.
"An ambassador accredited to Belgium has a responsibility to respect our institutions, our elected representatives, and the independence of our judicial system," Prevot said.
"Personal attacks against a Belgian minister and interference in judicial matters violate basic diplomatic norms."
National broadcaster VRT said Belgian authorities are investigating whether three men in Antwerp were performing circumcisions without certified medical training.
U.S. Ambassador Bill White said in a post on X that this investigation was "unacceptable harassment of the Jewish community here in Antwerp and in Belgium."
He said he would visit the three accused men in Antwerp and asked Belgium's minister of health to join him.
"Anti Semitism is UNACCEPTABLE in any form & it must be rooted out of our society, and I call upon all of Belgium to do a much better job on this subject," White said, tagging President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, among others.
He called the prosecution ridiculous and antisemitic.
"They are doing what they have been trained to do for thousands of years," White said.
"To the (very rude) Belgian Minister of Health ... You must make a legal provision to allow Jewish religious MOHELS to perform their duties here in Belgium," he added, using a Hebrew term for a Jewish officiant trained in circumcision, a central tenet of the faith.
White said Minister Frank Vandenbroucke refused to shake his hand when they first met.
"[I]t was clear that you dislike America, the country that fought and where tens of thousands of our nation's sons died for Belgium's freedom twice – in WWI & in WWII," he said.
"Take action NOW! The world is watching," White said.
"America is counting on you to do the right thing."
Belgian law requires people who perform circumcisions to be licensed doctors.
White told The New York Times he does not think Belgium is antisemitic and that he wrote his post because he was frustrated by Belgian officials not supporting the men under investigation.
He said his meeting with the foreign ministry was "very nice."
"I did not apologize for anything," White told the Times. "Nor would I."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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