Dutch Jews: ‘We now understand how Nazi-era Jews felt’

“I can now understand how Jews felt during World War II,” says member of the Netherlands’ small Jewish community.

By World Israel News Staff

Dutch Jews are increasingly afraid of being harassed or violently attacked due to their religious identities, say members of the Jewish community in the Netherlands.

Antisemitic incidents are continuing to increase in the country, after a pogrom led by Arab and Muslim residents targeted Israelis in Amsterdam last week.

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported on Sunday that numerous stickers placed in the small town of Apeldoorn, reading “Apeldoorn Jew Free” alongside an image of soccer team Ajax – known for its large Jewish fanbase – had made local Jews fear for their physical safety.

“It hurts me, it makes me feel depressed. I can now imagine how Jews felt in the years 1940-1945: the feeling of loneliness, the idea that many look the other way and do not dare to express themselves,” Donald de Leeuw, a member of the Jewish community in Apeldoorn, told De Telegraaf.

He stressed that while he still feels “connected to my Jewish identity at home,” de Leeuw doesn’t “wear a yarmulke outside anymore” due to concerns that he will be violently attacked.

An Apeldoorn municipality official condemned the antisemitic stickers in a conversation with De Telegraaf, calling them “pure antisemitism, and we do not accept that. After the events in Amsterdam, the mayor immediately sought out the Jewish community here to show his support.”

“That was before these stickers were distributed here,” the official added. “Of course, we will take action, and we hope that the police can find the perpetrators.”

Months before the Amsterdam “Jew hunt” – in which dozens of Israeli fans were beaten, run over by cars, and had their passports and cellphones stolens – anti-Israel sentiment in Holland had reached a fever pitch.

In March 2024, the mother of a soldier currently serving the Israeli army was harassed by anti-Israel activists at her home in a suburb of Amsterdam.

The woman was targeted by pro-Palestinian groups, who distributed fliers in her neighborhood with the name of the woman and her soldier daughter, the mother’s workplace, and her address.

“Residents beware, a child murderer lives in the neighborhood. This genocidal maniac returned from her murderous activities in Israel and will be soon be tried,” read the text.