Belgian Justice: Antwerp law courts. Image by wikimedia commons

(JTA) – Police in Belgium apprehended and briefly detained a man who allegedly assaulted a haredi Orthodox man on the street in Antwerp while shouting “Jew.”

The incident happened Friday evening on a central street in the capital of the Flemish Region, the alleged victim, who spoke to JTA on condition of anonymity, said Monday.

The alleged attacker approached the man smiling and in a relaxed manner that left the alleged victim not expecting an assault, he said. “Then he hit me on the chin, said ‘Jew’ and just walked away,” the alleged victim said.

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“This incident was unpleasant but I was glad to see the immediate response both by the community and the authorities,” said the Jewish man, a citizen of a country in Central Europe who is living in Antwerp.

Police told a local Jewish newspaper that the alleged attacker was often loitering at the scene of the incident, and he appeared to be intoxicated at the time of his arrest.

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