Jews in the Netherlands catch-up

I found a few tabs that I have had open for some time and they all related to Jews in the Netherlands, especially Amsterdam, and since Amsterdam used to be one of my and Mrs NotaSheep's favourite European cities I thought I'd post them all here...

Anti-Semitism is normal in Amsterdam:

'The NRC daily has published an article on anti-Semitism in Amsterdam which states that it has become the norm rather than incidental. There are six neighborhoods in Amsterdam where Jews cannot wear a skullcap or clothes which identify them as such for fear of attack. A rabbi who lives in one of the better neighborhoods says that he goes out on the streets as little as possible because he almost always is insulted by Moroccans who shout at him: “Hitler apparently forgot one”. The rabbi says that many Jews have similar experiences in Amsterdam. The monitor of discrimination on the internet found that half of the 577 punishable internet statements in 2009 were against Jews. The article also said that if the monitor would have looked carefully at sites for Moroccans in the Netherlands, they could have easily added another 1,000 punishable anti-Semitic internet statements.'

Fake Jews to fight anti-Semitism in Amsterdam:

'Amsterdam’s interim mayor Lodewijk Asscher says he will investigate the possibility of using undercover agents posing as Jews in order to combat anti-semitism.

A spokesman said the mayor is open to unorthodox methods to end to the upsurge of violence against Jews in Amsterdam. Mr Asscher was responding to a suggestion from Labour MP Ahmed Marcouch, himself of Moroccan parentage.

Hitler

A TV programme broadcast on Sunday by the Jewish Broadcasting Organisation showed rabbi Lody van de Kamp confronted by Moroccan youths giving the Hitler salute. The footage was recorded with a hidden camera. The rabbi and two school children went to various neighbourhoods in Amsterdam last week and were confronted not only by Hitler salutes but also by verbal abuse.

An earlier radio broadcast by the Jewish Broadcasting Organisation showed that the situation is equally serious in some other parts of the Netherlands, including the city of Rotterdam.

Skull-caps

Ronny Naftaniel, the head of anti-semitism watchdog the Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel, says, “it has become common for Jews to hide their skull-caps on the street.” The CIDI supports Ahmed Marcouch’s initiative.

In a radio interview the Labour MP said: “I say send fake Jews to arrest the attackers. Everything must be done to keep this phenomenon from growing. It seems like small incidents, but this is serious.”'

Prominent Jews leave Amsterdam because of anti-Semitism:

'A son of a prominent rabbi in the Netherlands has announced plans to move to Israel due to anti-Semitism. Benzion Evers, son of well-known Dutch rabbi Raphael Evers, told De Telegraaf that he feels “suffocated and caged” in his home country due to anti-Jewish sentiment.

“I'm fed up with the verbal abuse and the streetfighting,” he told Het Parool, another Dutch paper.

“It's not that you can't leave the house, but you need to constantly hide, to be careful,” he explained. He related his own cautionary measures, which include avoiding certain neighborhoods, and hiding his kippah (yalmulke) when walking through areas with a high number of Muslim immigrants.

While anti-Semitism is not uncommon among Muslim immigrants, particularly those from Morocco and Turkey, there is a second kind of anti-Semitism that is common in the Netherlands as well, Evers said, an educated anti-Semitism that is disguised as anti-Zionism.

Five of the Evers' family children have already left the Netherlands, he added, and his father plans to move as well after retirement. More than half of orthodox Jews end up leaving the country, he stated.

Just days earlier, Dutch politician Frits Bolkestein stated that religious Jews have no future in the Netherlands due to anti-Semitism. They should “emigrate to the U.S. or Israel,” he said. His comments were published in the book “The Decay: Jews in a Rudderless Netherlands” by Manfred Gerstenfeld.

The main cause of increasing hostility to Jews is “anti-Semitism among Dutchmen of Moroccan descent, whose numbers keep growing,” Bolkestein stated. He expressed doubt that the government is capable of fighting anti-Semitism and protecting its Jewish citizens.

His controversial remarks were met with an uproar. The Dutch Parliament held a special session to discuss the issue.

Earlier in the year Dutch Chief Rabbi Benjamin Jacobs spoke to Arutz Sheva and expressed concern over Dutch anti-Semitism, which he said is becoming prevalent. He said that many Dutch citizens are upset by anti-Semitism, but concluded, “As the situation is today, the future for Dutch Jewry is moving to Israel.” '

Some more scary statistics:

'A national police report in September found a 48 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents to 209 in 2009. The same report found that anti-Moroccan incidents rose 17 percent to 103.

After a wave of immigration in the 1990s Muslims make up around 1 million of the country's 16 million population. After being decimated during World War II, the Dutch Jewish population is estimated at 40,000-50,000.

Rising anti-Semitism "can be attributed to the rise of influence of Islam in the Netherlands," said Freedom party member of parliament Joram van Klaveren during the debate. "The more Islam, the more anti-Semitism."'