Michael Freilich

Michael Freilich (born 1980 in Antwerp) is a Belgian journalist and politician for the Flemish nationalist and conservative New Flemish Alliance party. He was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2019.

Biography Michael Freilich was born in Antwerp in 1980, to a British born father and a Belgian mother. He is the grandson of a Holocaust survivor who escaped transportation from Mechelen to Auschwitz. Freilich studied Business Administration and Communication at universities in Israel and the United States before returning to Belgium to begin a career in journalism. He served as editor-in-chief of the magazine Joods Actueel and established himself as a spokesman for Antwerp's Jewish community.

Freilich is a practicing Orthodox Jew, making him the first Orthodox Jewish politician to be elected to the Chamber of Representatives. He is married with four children.

He has stated that the main concerns that prompted him to get involved in politics were immigration, extremism and terrorism. He has cited his opposition to the UN Global Compact on Migration, arguing "the chaos with uncontrolled migration is no longer possible" and instead advocating for a points based migration system similar to the Canadian model. He got elected with 12,829 preferential votes and the N-VA won 24 seats, making it the largest group. Freilich thus became the first Modern Orthodox Jew in the House of Representatives. In 2023, Freilich referred to the October 7 attack on Israel as "Israel's 9/11" and expressed concern that the war will lead to a sectarian conflict between Jews and Muslims in Belgium. He also criticised what he argued is the "one-sided view of the conflict" of the Western press, citing inaccurate reporting by The New York Times and argued "if you do not eliminate Hamas now, Israel will perish. Because Hamas will always go one step further. The next step may be a chemical attack. Hamas can do that, with the help of Iran. By the way, it is the position of the European Union that Israel has the right to eliminate Hamas. I am not going to oppose that."