Jews lose hold on Antwerp diamond trade
There used to be tens of thousands of diamond cutters in the Belgian port of Antwerp. Now there are only a few hundred.
Traditional methods are coming under threat from globalisation
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It is within the city’s Jewish community that most of the jobs have been lost – particularly among the Hasidic Jews who adhere strictly to religious laws.
Out of about 2,000 Hasidic families in Antwerp, 1,000 are now headed by a man who has no job.
Unemployment of 50% would cause great hardship among any group of people. But for Hasidic Jews it brings special problems.
Women do not usually work – they raise large families, with nine children on average – and the children are often given private religious education.
Jobs move abroad
In fact, diamonds still make a lot of money in Antwerp – but it is shared among a small elite.
Setting up as an independent dealer has become almost impossible.
But Alan Majerczyk, a director of the Antwerp Diamond Bourse, denies there is any prejudice against any particular group.
“It’s a multi-racial environment and we all get along well – it’s an example to the outside world,” he says.
“Like any other industry, we couldn’t afford to pay the heavy labor costs in Europe, so the polishing moved to India and China, but at a certain stage the goods come back. Antwerp gets 80% of all the rough trade and 50% of the polished diamonds.”
Africa, too, has taken some of Antwerp’s jobs. Nations where diamonds are mined, like Botswana, now insist the lucrative cutting process is also done within the country.
The use of lasers to cut the diamonds has also reduced the number of jobs.
Most of the Jews who work in the diamond trade are self-employed, which allows them to observe the Sabbath and religious holidays.
Nowadays, though, the industry is increasingly dominated by huge businesses like de Beers, which made nearly $500m (£280m) profit last year.
Some of the Jewish men who have been left without work are now starting to retrain in other professions.
Sam Friedman believes it is vital for men from his Hasidic community to gain new skills, and so he offers them night classes in accounting, languages and computers.
“Training and education are very important for the Hasidic people to get a job, because in the Jewish schools they only learn about Jewish law and Jewish history but not about general things,” he says.
“So it’s very important after religious school to train some more so that you can find a job.”
Cultural clash
Even among other Orthodox, non-Hasidic Jews, there is a major debate over education.
Tradition-minded parents often do not let their children go to university, partly for fear that its secular environment will taint their religious beliefs.
Marcel Engelstein is a successful businessman in Antwerp who believes the changes in the diamond industry present an opportunity for positive change.
Alan Majerczyk says Antwerp still has a future in diamonds
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“We have here a community connected to Israel – which has developed a lot of hi-tech businesses. We can use our brain power to bring the companies here,” says Mr Engelstein.
“The Hasidic and Orthodox people are using their brains all the time when they are learning the Talmud [religious law and history].
“So it’s very easy to teach them new things. They need a bit of guidance and a bit of will power, of course, but I think we can really get them to do that.”
Some people already have learned new skills – like Daniel Verner, a young man who is making a name for himself locally as an architect.
His father used to work in diamonds and his brothers still do. But he decided to go to university and then set up his own business.
“Twenty years ago people would proclaim you crazy for not going into diamonds, and today it’s just the opposite,” he says.
“When people try to look for jobs outside diamonds they gain respect, because everybody knows the situation is much more difficult today than it was back then.”
Mr Verner believes that loosening the links between the Jewish community and the diamond trade will transform the society.
“Everybody is going to have a different life, different schedules and different interests, so even when we talk together it’s going to be on different subjects. For sure it’s going to change,” he says.
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