Belgian police were forced to disperse a crowd that protested the banning of a gathering of far right figures, a meeting slammed by Jewish groups as an “anti-Semitic hatefest”.  One of those expected to attend was controversial French comic Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, who has a lengthy record of hate speech violations in France.

Anderlecht Mayor Eric Tomas said he was banning it to ensure public order, adding that there was a serious risk to public safety because protesters were thought to be planning to take to the streets against the congress.

Organizers attempted to keep the location a secret until the last moment to avoid being banned.  It didn’t work.  This put together by a group called “Debout les Belges!” (Belgians, Rise up!) which is led by screwball anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist and political gadfly Laurent Louis, who has sought to make waves by accusing established politicians of pedophilia. 

The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center supported the ban, dubbing the event an “anti-Semitic Hatefest”.

“The fact that this hatefest is to be held in Brussels, the capital of Europe, the seat of its Parliament,” said the center's Shimon Samuels, “is a threat to democracy reminiscent of the 1920s Weimar Republic, which brought Europe to the Nazi abyss.”