The Sephardic Community of Brussels has a long and storied history. Well before the First World War, and prior to any official recognition, a number of Sephardic Jewish families emigrated from the former Ottoman Empire to Brussels, establishing a small but vibrant community at the turn of the 20th century. Initially tiny, the community began to flourish and expand rapidly during the Great Depression due to a major influx of Jews from Turkey and Greece, primarily Salonika, Istanbul, and Izmir.
By the late 1950s and early 1960s, the community became dominated by Sepharadim from the Island of Rhodes, who had originally immigrated to the Belgian Congo, South Rhodesia (today’s Zimbabwe) and South Africa at the beginning of the 20th century for business opportunities in the rubber trade, establishing sizable communities. With the decolonization of central Africa, and Belgium’s direct colonial ties to the Congo and use of the French language, many of these Sepharadim ended up coming to Brussels. This helped to revive our community after the Holocaust in Belgium - nearly 25,000 Jews in the country were deported by the Nazis to Auschwitz during the War.
In 2007, the Community inaugurated a new synagogue named the Simon and Lina Haim Synagogue, in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Uccle, moving closer to its members. Today, we are the largest active Jewish Congregation in Brussels, with more than 350 member families, more than half of which have Turkish and Rhodesli heritage. We have new cultural programs to engage our community and the wider Belgian society, including Ladino courses led by our President Miko Cohen. The community remains highly active with weekly Shabbat services, cultural programs, youth activities, and an amazing Rabbi.
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