It was in the 13th century that the first Jews settled in Belgium. This nascent community, made up of faithful from the Rhineland, England and France, was destroyed by the horrors of the Crusades and then the Black Death. Its renewal took place in the 16th century when the Judios were driven out of Spain and Portugal. They find refuge mainly in Antwerp where they actively participate in the economic development of the city and acquire a great reputation in the trading and cutting of diamonds.

The Great Synagogue of Brussels was inaugurated by Rabbi Astruc on September 20, 1878. Inspired by the synagogues of the Victory in Paris and Frankfurt am Main, its facade has decorative elements of oriental style from the 1st to the 7th century from central Syria as well as other ornamentation strongly resembling those of the monuments of the Promised Land.