By Worthy News’ Johan Th. Bos and Stefan J. Bos
AMSTERDAM/AMSTELVEEN (Worthy News) – The Netherlands, long known as one of the most liberal and tolerant nations in Europe, is reeling from the worst antisemitic attacks since World War Two.
In the latest incident, a Jewish woman whose daughter serves in the Israeli army was threatened by pro-Palestine protesters in Amstelveen near Amsterdam, the capital.
The nurse in Amstelveen, a city with a sizeable Jewish community, said the three women at her home shouted that she was “a child molester.”
“It feels like the Second World War when the addresses of the Jews were passed on [to the Nazis ],” she told the Netherlands’ De Telegraaf (The Telegraph) newspaper.
“They have been on a witch hunt for over a month, but this visit to my home was a low point,” she added. The pro-Palestine activists also published video footage about her daughter as she served in the Israeli military.
Additionally, posters have been distributed in the area with her name and address, she said. Worthy News did not publish her name amid security concerns.
“People even came to my work with [Palestinian] flags. They walked around looking for me,” she said. The woman was absent during the incident, but her colleagues and manager faced these moments.
AMSTELVEEN SECURITY
In a reaction, Amstelveen Mayor Tjapko Poppens said security had been stepped up as it was “unacceptable that a resident is intimidated this way,” especially in a city with a synagogue, a Jewish hospital, and a large Jewish community.
Tjapko, who visited the woman, wrote in a letter to the municipal council “that people are free to express their opinions about the situation in the Middle East, but that in no way justifies the use of aggression.”
In the letter shared with Worthy News, he said, “Amstelveen is a diverse city where every varied background, orientation or religion should feel safe and at home. There is no place for discrimination and antisemitism in our municipality.”
The Amstelveen attacks came days after angry pro-Palestine protesters interrupted a concert from Dutch Jewish singer Lenny Kuhr by activists calling her a terrorist and shouting genocide.
Kuhr, 77, has spoken out against the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, in which some 1,200 people were killed.
The singer has several grandchildren who are army conscripts in Israel, one of whom was wounded during the attack on October 7.
While she has vowed to continue her performances, at least one theater suspended ticket sales, citing security fears.
SURVIVORS SHOCKED
Earlier survivors of the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, were confronted by antisemitic slogans during this month’s opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam.
Phia Baruch, a royally decorated Dutch Jewish journalist and author who survived the Holocaust, said she understood the pain of the Jewish people, especially in this Easter and Passover period.
“In a way, the Jewish people go through a kind of crucifixion with all these attacks,” she told Worthy News.
Baruch recalled that the antisemitic incidents are especially difficult for the Netherlands as two-thirds of Dutch Jews were killed in the Holocaust, more than any other European country.
Some 102,000 Dutch Jews were among the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
Critics have linked antisemitism against members of the Netherlands’ 45,000 Jewish people, in part to the growing influence of Islam following years of massive immigration.
“Stop the hatred towards Jews,” said Geert Wilders, who leads the anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV). He and leaders of a dozen other parliamentary parties signed a declaration against antisemitism.
HATRED HORROR
“We see with horror that hatred towards Jews is returning in places where everyone should be safe and freely can come together. Antisemitism not only appears to be something from a long time ago but flares up again. This is not about demonstrating for a cause; this is about intimidation. That has to stop, now,” they wrote.
They condemned the attacks, such as against the Jewish singer and the halting of ticket sales due to fear of more antisemitism.
“Even a performance by a Jewish Dutch person is no longer safe. This is not an incident. A line has been crossed here that we hoped would never be crossed again in our country. The safety and freedom of Jewish Dutch people are at stake. The freedom to come together, commemorate, celebrate, and express yourself culturally – to live,” they added.
“That’s why we stand up. Let us stand firm for our Jewish community for the great good of freedom and security.
Don’t remain silent, but speak out loudly against antisemitism. Because if Jewish Dutch people are unsafe in our country, then we all have to stand up,” the parties wrote. “Let no one be silent anymore; stop antisemitism now, in any form: today, tomorrow, and in the future.”
Baruch said she remains hopeful. “I still think most Dutch people are against antisemitism.”
Yet, with synagogues and Jewish schools requiring additional security and antisemitic attacks continuing, at least some Jewish people are considering moving to Israel, leaving the Netherlands behind.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.