The windows have drawn scrutiny for decades, particularly as the Catholic Church sought to reckon with its history of antisemitism. In 1969, shortly after the landmark Nostra Aetate declaration rejecting longstanding anti-Jewish Catholic doctrine, the Archbishop of Brussels ordered that several paintings be removed and a plaque be mounted to offer context about the remaining depictions.<\/p>\n
Several years later, the European Jewish Congress noted last week, Catholic leaders did install a plaque that drew readers\u2019 attention to \u201cthe biased nature of the accusations [against the Jews accused of the desecration] and to the legendary presentation of the \u2018miracle.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
But Flora Cassen, the director of the Brandeis Center for Jewish Studies and a scholar of European antisemitism, said the existing plaque was \u201cvery ambiguous about the responsibility and what happened\u201d and installed in an easy-to-miss location. The new plaques, she said, contain a clear and \u201cvery moving\u201d apology and cannot be missed by anyone who comes to see the windows.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe significance is enormous of the church finally putting a plaque there that tells the story, that acknowledges the antisemitism behind it, that acknowledges that it was a slander and that it resulted in persecution and in the execution of Jews in Brussels and their expulsion,\u201d Cassen said.<\/p>\n
The new plaques cite Nostra Aetate and the Catholic Church\u2019s subsequent effort under Pope John Paul II to reckon with historical antisemitism in 2000. They affirm the church\u2019s \u201ccommitment to combat all forms of antisemitism, to deepen dialogue between Jews and Christians, and to pass on to future generations a clear remembrance, based on the acknowledgement of truth and mutual respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
While some have called for the historic windows to be removed, Guigui said in a statement that the plaques represented an appropriate way to address relics of historical antisemitism.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat matters today is how we look at these images,\u201d the rabbi said. \u201cThey must not be erased, because they are part of history, but they must be accompanied by explanation and moral insight in order to understand the context and avoid repeating past mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
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