For the first time, the Belgian Consulate-General in Jerusalem has refused to issue a new passport to a Belgian-Israeli citizen living in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev, claiming the area is “not recognized under international law,” Ynet reported.
The woman who was denied the renewal of her passport is Annabel Herziger-Tanzer, the daughter of Auschwitz survivor Sam Herziger, a Belgian citizen and well-known artist whose works are displayed in museums around the world, including in Antwerp.
When Annabel’s passport expired about a month ago, she did what she’s always done in the past, contacting the Belgian Consulate in Jerusalem and requesting an appointment to renew her passport. To her utter shock, she received an email stating that the consulate is refusing to do so.
“Madame Herziger, after reviewing our population records, we found that you settled in a colony that is not recognized under international law, to which Belgium is bound,” the email stated. “Therefore, you could not be registered at this address in the consular population records of the Consulate General of Belgium in Jerusalem.”
Speaking to Ynet, Annabel said: “I felt as if they had spat in my face, as if I were a second-class person. I am a member of the Israel-Belgium Friendship Association, but I am no longer proud to be Belgian. It brings up trauma for me as the second generation of Holocaust survivors. I always felt like a resident of Israel and Belgium, with my first love for my first homeland. Had my last name been Awad and had I lived in Pisgat Ze’ev, I would not have been treated this way.”
Her husband, social activist Alex Tanzer, who is also the child of Holocaust survivors, sent an urgent letter to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar: “Where is the State of Israel? The Foreign Ministry must immediately summon the Belgian ambassador for a reprimand. This is the only country in the world that practices selection between Jews and non-Jews.”
The policy shift stems from a decision by authorities in Brussels not to provide consular services to Israelis living in settlements in the wake of a Belgian government commitment in late 2025 to recognize a Palestinian state.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
