‘DIAMONDS NO LONGER A JEW’S BEST FRIEND’, SAYS ANTWERP LEADER
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In Paris there is a métro stop called Louvre. In Antwerp there is a tram stop called Diamant. But according to Henri Rubens, a member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community of Antwerp, and its President for 3 years, diamonds are no longer a Jew’s best friend, despite the city’s long-standing advertising campaign declaring the Antwerp to be ‘a gem of a city’.
"Our youngsters are beginning to leave the trade", Rubens told the JC last week, "because its become increasingly difficult to make a living. The big problem is the influx of Indians into the business – they manufacture in India – where labour costs are a tenth of what we experience in Antwerp. After the war, when the trade picked up again after the holocaust, there used to be around 15,000 workers in the trade. Now it is down to around 3,000. There are very few Jews still working at the bench – I think that our last polisher left well over a year ago."
Despite Rubens’ downbeat message, Antwerp remains the most important diamond trade centre in the world, with an annual turnover of 23 billion US dollars. More than 85% of the world’s rough diamonds are traded in the handsome Belgian city, the diamond sector accounting for no less than 7% of Belgium’s total exports. The unique structure of the diamond district, located near Central Station, is contained within an area no larger than one square mile and comprises 1,500 diamond companies and four separate diamond exchanges. Not that the trade is divided between Indians and Jews – for a number of other groups have also entered the trade – Lebanese, Armenians, Zairians and, most recently, Russians. "Some of these new Russian Jews even open on shabbas", Rubens sighs, giving a reluctant shrug of the shoulders. Others whisper darkly about Mafia connections.
As early at the sixteenth century several Jewish families from Portugal had settled in the city, and were active in the diamond trade. Then, towards the end of the nineteenth century, East European Jews swelled the ranks of the community considerably. They played a vital role in the founding of the Beurs voor Diamanthandel, one of the city’s four bourses. The post-war revival of the city’s diamond industry was likewise largely the work of the Jewish community, the war years having seen the city’s Jewish population reduced by over 30,000. As if to adduce incontrovertible evident of the key role played by Jews in the trade, the Israelite Portuguese Synagogue is situated in Hoveniersstraat, the main diamond district – and immediately next door to the Diamond High Council, the administrative body which oversees the trade. Today there are some 25 synagogues in Antwerp; the majority of them situated within one square mile.
"I used to be in the trade myself", Rubens continues, "but I went into building and development. All we want to do here in Antwerp is to continue to live decently and to see that our community fulfils its role. 95% of our children go to Jewish schools – and it remains our priority to ensure that our children receive a good Jewish education. There are 12 different Hasidic sects in the city – some 4,000 members of the community –, which is almost a quarter of the city’s Jewish population. American Jews are often very happy in Antwerp – its one of the few city’s in the world where they can get around speaking Yiddish, which is enjoying a revival. My message to the younger generation of today? To bear in mind that we are as clever as anyone else. And that they can thrive in the professions too. The world is open to many other things apart from diamonds – and my advice would be steer away from the diamond trade if you possibly can."
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