A theater in Antwerp, Belgium, canceled a graduation event for students of a local Jewish school, claiming that the school has a connection with Israel, which according to theater managers "is carrying out a massacre in Gaza."
The school rented the hall for a graduation event scheduled for June 27, marking the end of the school year. However, the theater management sent an email to the school, canceling the agreement with the school about renting the venue for the event.
"We are horrified by the massacre of the people happening in Gaza. We also work closely with several Palestinian artists, who also suffer from the occupation," the theater management wrote to the Jewish school manager. The theater continued and drew a direct connection between the school and the State of Israel, citing this as the main reason for canceling the school's reservation.
The school did not take this cancelation lightly and is considering legal action against the theater. Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the European Jewish Organizations Association (EJA), said that the theater's canceling the Jewish school's event is religious discrimination, similar to what the Nazis did. The association announced that it is preparing a lawsuit against the theater management and its owners.
Rabbi Margolin urgently appealed in a letter to the Belgian prime minister, the interior minister, and the mayor of Antwerp demanding that as long as the hall excludes Jews, they issue an order to close it.