Belgium haredi stabbing victim: 'This is the price of escalation'
Yehoshua Malic was stabbed in the neck on his way to Antwerp synagogue. He believes his attacker, who fled and remains at large, was a Muslim motivated by anti-Semitism.
"I had a great miracle. When he stabbed me over and over, I asked myself how I would get out of it and if I would survive," said Yehoshua Malic, a Haredi man living in Belgium wounded in a knife attack on Saturday.
Malic was on his way to the synagogue in Antwerp when he encountered the attacker. "This was an anti-Semitic attack and I believe the assailant was Muslim," 31-year-old Malic told Ynet.
The Israeli-Belgian, a married father of three, said that as he was walking under the city's railway bridge, a hooded man passed by and assaulted him. "He didn't shout anything. He just started stabbing me in the neck and tried to stab me in the chest, but was prevented by my coat."
"At first I thought he was just punching me," said Malic, "but then I realized that I was bleeding heavily. I began to yell, and others who were going to the synagogue came running. The attacker ran away."
He said that his life was saved by a miracle. "The doctors said I was lucky that the wounds were not deeper. I was conscious the whole time. The other people who were there said the suspect looked Polish to them, but I think he was Muslim."
Malic was certain that this was an anti-Semitic attack, and saw a connection to the escalating tension between Jews and Arabs in Israel. "What happened to me is related to events in Israel, with all the car and knife attacks. When it's not calm in Israel, then Jews in the Diaspora pay the price."
"There are many Muslims and Arabs in Antwerp," he noted. "Until today, living here wasn't scary. There were incidents of violence against Jews, and there were beatings, but never stabbings."
Malic said he didn't plan to change his routine following the difficult ordeal. "I'll keep going to the synagogue and won't be deterred. The Jewish community has protection and our institutions are well-secured."
On the day of the attack, he was taken to the hospital, where he required stitches. He later gave testimony to police. Law enforcement arrested a suspect, but he was released shortly thereafter when it became clear that he was uninvolved. As of publication, no suspect had been apprehended.
