Suggested lead: A string of recent attacks on Jewish targets in Europe has prompted the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium to introduce new security measures to protect Jewish communities. It comes amidst an overall rise in antisemitism in Europe that has been linked to events in the Middle East. In Belgium, the government has deployed soldiers to protect Jewish sites across the country. DW Correspondent Christine Mhundwa reports from Antwerp. 
  
Lower thirds:

0:03 Report by / Christine Mhundwa
0:49  Christine Mhundwa / DW Correspondent
0:58  David, Neighborhood Patrol coordinator
1:30  Yael , Student
2:14  Jack Friedman, Director of Jewish Community Antwerp, Shomre Hadas
3:15  Eti, Kosher grocery store owner

Script:

We‘ve come to the port city of Antwerp on Belgium’s River Scheldt. 
It would look like an ordinary weekday –  
apart from the presence of soldiers patrolling the streets. 
They’re part of a 200-strong force that the government has deployed across Belgium to boost security at Jewish sites. 
The move comes in response to recent incidents, suspected of being antisemitic attacks: torched cars in Antwerp, an explosion at a synagogue in Liege.   
In a recent EU poll - more than half of Europeans surveyed said they considered antisemitism a problem in their country. 
Jewish people I spoke to in Antwerp tell me they’re experiencing it first-hand. 
David coordinates a team of volunteers who conduct night patrols in the Jewish neighbourhood.

+++Christine Mhundwa, DW Correspondent+++ 
“when you say you’ve noticed a rise in antisemitism can you tell me a little but about what’s been happening, what people in the Jewish community have been experiencing?” 

+++SOT David, Neighborhood Patrol coordinator+++  
“yeah a lot of shouting, I would say a lot of pestering, people got hit already on the streets. I wouldn’t say it’s a daily occurrence but it happens”

+++VOX Yossi,+++ 
‘‘Things have changed in the last few years, you feel it, you can feel it on the street, you feel it on the street. People are getting shouted at, small kids are getting beaten up here, caps are flying off. It became very sad here and unfortunately I have kids here, it’s not so safe as it used to be” 
 
+++SOT Yael , Student +++ 
“I’m minding my own business I’m walking down the street, going to school, or going to a friend and there’s just people looking at me, screaming like stuff that I don’t wanna particularly want to repeat and I normally tend to just walk off and kind of move on but it's still a very uncomfortable experience, especially if its in the dark” 

Hostile attitudes towards Jews have persisted in Europe - 
It’s why it’s not uncommon for Jewish sites and Israel-linked institutions to receive round the clock security.  
But this new wave of antisemitism in Europe has been linked to Israeli government policy in Gaza and now in Iran. 
 
Jews abroad have strong connections to Israel, 
But this community leader says there are misconceptions about this connection: 
 
+++SOT Jack Friedman, Director of Jewish Community Antwerp, Shomre Hadas+++ 
“Many people who are affected and influenced by the media, are seeing images of what Israel is doing in Gaza. I believe that that, the non-Jewish world sees Israel and Jewish as one, and that's not necessarily the case.

Antwerp has one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe. 
Its roots date back to the 16th century – 
when Jews driven out of Spain and Portugal migrated here. 
  
The community grew when Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries. 
Today a significant portion of the community are OrthodoxJews – 
it’s why people sometimes refer to Antwerp as the ‘Jerusalem of the North’. 
  
Eti now runs the local Kosher grocer her father founded 40 years ago -  
it's a mainstay for the Jewish community.  
With the Passover holiday ‘Pesach’ is just days away – it’s a particularly busy time. 
 
+++SOT Eti, Kosher grocery store owner+++ 
“Everything is here Kosher. Everything comes from above - America, Israel, United Kingdom, France, wherever they produce we have it in our shop. We always try to be on top of everything” //“Now that we’re turning to Pesach, the people know that whatever they need for the Pesach they can come and buy in our center” 
 
But this year, the recent attacks hang over preparations for the holiday. 
Israel’s National Security Council has urged extra caution when attending Passover events at sites identified as Jewish or Israeli.  
At tense background ahead of this most important Jewish holiday. 
END