A 34-year-old lawyer was elected new president of CCOJB, the umbrella group of Jewish organisations in Belgium, a body which has been marked by internal strife.

Yohan Benizri was elected by 24 of the member organizations and reached the necessary majority of 60% to be chosen in the first round. He had no competitor.

A lawyer specialized in European affairs, he was previously secretary general of the organisation.

He succeeds Serge Rozen who had been in office since March 2015 but resigned in September after deep disagreements with the steering committee.

The new president said he wanted to ''reunite’’ CCOJB members around a common project and to strengthen the organisation’s coordinating role.

He also plans to launch a school to train young community leaders to take over positions within the associations and respond to the problem of generational transition.

He said the organisation will continue to fight anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia as well as Holocaust denial.

''CCOJB will also continue to take legal action against those who harm the Jewish community in Belgium,'' he said.