Jewish Museum Brussels reflects on terror attack as trial opens

Jewish Museum Brussels reflects on terror attack as trial opens
By Euronews
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Almost five years on from the attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels the trial opens for the main suspects. The cultural site is seeking to turn the page on the day it became a terror target, to become a space for dialogue and exchange.

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Almost five years have passed since the attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels - where at the entrance hall the first gunshots rang out - it lasted just 82 seconds and claimed 4 lives.

A gold plaque has been put in place to commemorate the four victims of that attack, victims it says, of a cowardly murder by a terrorist in this place on May 24 2014 at 3.39pm.

As the trial of main suspect Mehdi Nemmouche opens in the Belgian capital - it's a sensitive time for those working here.

"It's a day full of emotions, but it's all a day where we can say we are getting closer to the truth, to justice being served and getting closer to responsibility for the crime," says Chouna Lomponda, Museum spokesperson.

The attack highlighted a growing antisemitism in the country, as well as issues of integration between the diverse communities. The museum sought to turn the page, using culture and diaolgue to confront differences.

"After the attack, we had a period of mourning, the museum was closed. When we reopened, the first people to visit were curious, then people visited out of a sense of solidarity, but mostly many people came...Now we put the emphasis on opening up. We wanted more than ever that this museum is place where communities can come together," explains Lomponda.

And the latest exhibition by Jewish American photographer Leonard Freed feels very timely - with the title 'Photographing World Disorder'.

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