Belgian mayor defends carnival float featuring Jews with money and a rat

 JTA — The mayor of the Belgian city whose annual parade featured puppets of Jews and a rat atop money bags defended the display, telling the local media that “In Aalst it should be allowed.”
Christoph D’Haese told the Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper that “it’s not up to the mayor to forbid” such displays, and that “the carnival participants had no sinister intentions.” Jewish groups and international organizations including the European Commission condemned Sunday’s float at the Aalst Carnival.