Turkey condemns attack on Jewish Museum in Belgium

ANKARA

Shira (C-L) and Ayelet (C-R) Riva mourn over the bodies of their parents, who were killed during the shooting attack at the Jewish Museum in the Belgian capital Brussels. AFP Photo

Turkey has condemned a fatal weekend attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels, while vowing continued support for efforts against religious intolerance and xenophobia.

“We want to hope that the attack was not launched with racist motivations and does not have anti-Semitic characteristics,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement released late on May 28, extending condolences to the families of the four victims.

“Otherwise, our concerns in the face of the fatal picture that has emerged in the European parliamentary elections will further increase,” the ministry said, lending support to the Belgian government’s efforts to capture the perpetrators of the attack at once and shed light on the reasons for the attack.

“Hereby, we want to once more emphasize Turkey will continue its efforts aimed at preventing all kinds of religious intolerance and xenophobia, which include threats, provocation or violence against humanity, in the upcoming period as it has done in the past,” the ministry concluded.

The attack carried out over the weekend by a “well-prepared” killer according to police and video images, killed three people outright and left a young man brain-dead.

It was the first of such an attack in over 30 years in Belgium and has revived fears of a return of violent anti-Semitism in Europe.