Dutch PM Dick Schoof claimed he warned Israel over Gaza aid — but Israeli President Isaac Herzog says that’s not true.

By World Israel News Staff

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he told Israeli President Isaac Herzog that the Netherlands plans to take action against Israel if it does not increase humanitarian aid to Gaza — triggering a sharp response from Herzog, who accused the Dutch leader of lying about their conversation.

In a post on X published Monday evening, Schoof claimed he had discussed the “catastrophic situation” in Gaza with Herzog, adding that he warned the Israeli leader the Netherlands would take action if Gazans are not granted “immediate, unfettered, safe access to humanitarian aid.”

Schoof wrote that during the conversation, he had threatened to support efforts to suspend Israel’s participation in a European Union research program, and floated the idea of ending trade ties with the Jewish state.

Herzog, a figurehead known for his diplomacy and calm demeanor, responded with uncharacteristic candor to Schoof’s tweet.

“Sorry Prime Minister, with all due respect — this tweet does not reflect the spirit and details of the call,” Herzog replied on his X account.

“Nor does it reflect my crystal clear position that it will be a HUGE mistake if EU takes such steps especially in light of Israel’s ongoing and upgraded humanitarian efforts,” he added.

“I am especially saddened that the plight of our hostages and the demand for their immediate release are not even mentioned!”

A source told the Jerusalem Post that Schoof’s characterization of tough talk during the phone call was false.

In reality, Schoof told Herzog that “he is a true friend of Israel” but is under immense public pressure to take a stand on the Gaza aid issue, the source told the Post.

According to the source, Schoof said “he has no choice [but to]… support the suspension of a small part of the EU-Israel Association Agreement” in order to appease his voters.

The post Dutch PM is lying about threatening Israel over Gaza aid: Herzog appeared first on World Israel News.

Gaza-born defendant charged with attempted manslaughter is “mentally ill,” claims attorney.

By World Israel News Staff

The lead prosecutor in a criminal case against a perpetrator in the Amsterdam soccer pogrom denied in court that antisemitism was a motivation for the attacks.

The prosecution is seeking two years in prison for a defendant, identified as Sefa O., who played a “leading role” in the widespread violence against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.

The attack in early November saw mobs of Muslim residents of Amsterdam – primarily of Arab and Turkish origin – targeting Israeli soccer fans who had traveled to the city for a game.

The attackers gleefully posted on social media that they were engaging in a “Jew hunt” and displayed items, such as Israeli passports and cellphones, that they had stolen from their victims.

In videos shown in the courtroom, Sefa O was seen punching Israeli fans, kicking them while they were already on the ground, and chasing additional victims.

While acknowledging that the violent attacks had “little to do with football,” the prosecutor – whose name was not made public – said that the pogrom was not rooted in Jew-hatred.

“In this case, there was no evidence of… a terrorist intent and the violence was not motivated by antisemitic sentiment,” the prosecutor said, according to media reports summarizing his remarks in court.

“The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by antisemitism,” the prosecutor added.

Another man who appeared in court on Wednesday, identified by Dutch media as Abushabab M., 22, was charged with attempted manslaughter. According to media reports, he was seen sobbing hysterically in the courtroom.

The defendant, who was born in Gaza, had his sentencing delayed because no Arabic-language translator was available.

Speaking to the court, his attorney said that the judge should consider that the defendant grew up in a war zone and “is a young, vulnerable suspect with a life story that cuts to the bone.”

The attorney urged leniency, claiming that Abushabab M. was “most likely suffering from a psychological disorder.”

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“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.

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“It feels like in World War II when the addresses of Jews were given out,” said the victim.

By World Israel News Staff

The mother of a soldier currently serving the Israeli army was harassed at her home in a suburb of Amsterdam, as three women banged on her door and verbally accosted her.

According to a report from Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, the mother of the soldier has been suffering from sustained harassment via social media, culminating in pro-Palestinian activists stalking her at work and appearing on her doorstep.

The woman, who is employed at as a nurse at a local hospital, has been targeted at her workplace by people waving Palestinian flags and shouting abuse at her.

Following Wednesday’s incident, the harassment has escalated to pro-Palestinian activists confronting her at home.

“It feels like in World War II when the addresses of Jews were given out,” the woman, whose name was not made public due to safety concerns, told De Telegaaf.

The victim was accosted at her home in Amstelveen, a neighborhood with a significant Jewish population, by three women who accused her of being complicit in “genocide” and “child murder.”

“I don’t understand why you are still here in the Netherlands,” one of the assailants reportedly told her.

The woman has been made a public target by pro-Palestinian groups, who have distributed fliers in her neighborhood with the name of the mother and the soldier, 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,” reads the text.

“Her mother sent her bitch daughter to kill babies, she is also an accomplice.”

Similar fliers, with revealing personal information, have also been posted online.

Naomi Mestrum, the director of the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, said in a media statement that the woman was the victim of a lengthy, organized harassment campaign.

“Her feeling of safety has been seriously compromised,” Mestrum said.

The incident comes a week after unknown assailants firebombed the Israeli Embassy in The Hague.

In February, a Dutch NGO filed a lawsuit lobbying the government to prosecute dual Israeli-Dutch citizens or Dutch Jews who have served in the IDF.

The post ‘Baby murderer’ – Mother of IDF soldier harassed in Holland appeared first on World Israel News.

Pro-Palestinian activists demand Dutch police arrest Herzog for ‘genocide.’

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is set to visit the Netherlands next week, despite calls for his arrest.

A spokesperson for the president announced Thursday that Herzog will depart for the Netherlands on Sunday or a day-long state visit.

However, a criminal complaint filed by a Dutch attorney against Herzog could complicate Herzog’s plans.

Haroon Raza, a Rotterdam-based attorney affiliated with the anti-Israel “March 30 Movement,” has accused Herzog as Israel’s head of state of genocide in Gaza.

Citing allegations of Israeli “genocide” in Gaza put forth by groups like Amnesty International, B’Tselem, and Human Rights Watch, Raza filed a complaint against Herzog, demanding local authorities arrest the Israeli president upon his arrival on Sunday.

This is not the first time Raza has filed criminal complaints against prominent political leaders. He previously lodged a complaint against Dutch Premier Mark Rutte.

In February, he filed a criminal complaint against Leah Rachmani, a Dutch national serving in the IDF, accusing her of war crimes.

“I filed a complaint against this person for active participation in the war in Gaza as part of the IDF … making her a person who must be investigated for war crimes,” Raza told Anadolu.

The movement was formed by European activists following Gaza’s October 7th invasion of Israel and the subsequent war between Israel and the Hamas organization. It’s name comes from the annual Land Day protests, held by Arab-Israelis beginning in 1976, following Israeli government plans to establish new Jewish towns in the Galilee.

The trip is part of of Israel’s ongoing efforts to free the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with President Herzog slated to hold a series of diplomatic meetings during his visit aimed at securing the captives’ release and raising awareness on the rise in antisemitism in Europe.

The president will also attend the inauguration of the new National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam.

The official ceremony will be held in city’s famous Portuguese Synagogue, in the presence of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, together with the President of Austria, Alexander van der Bellen, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, President of the German Federal Council (Bundesrat), Manuela Schwesig, the Mayor of Amsterdam, and Jewish leaders from around the world.

During his visit, Herzog will be joined by the family of the late Major (Res.) Yitzhar Hoffman, who fell in battle against terrorists January. The Hoffman family was saved in the Holocaust by Dutch citizens who were later recognized as Righteous Among the Nations.

President Herzog will also visit The Hague, where he will meet with Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands, President van der Bellen of Austria, and other senior officials. Herzog is also expected to meet with families of Israeli hostages visiting the country.

In addition, President Herzog will meet with leaders of Jewish communities in the Netherlands, and will visit the Jewish school in the city.

In each of his meetings, President Herzog will raise the ongoing and vital struggle to secure the release of all the hostages held by Hamas. He will also emphasize the important need to combat global antisemitism, and stress the centrality of Israel in the Jewish world.

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The dolls will be used by volunteers to provide comfort and support to young children when treating them or their relatives.

By World Israel News Staff

In a tribute to their late daughter, Gilat, who passed away in 2008 from a rare disease, Jerusalem residents Tali and Yair Eisenmann donated more than 1,300 dolls to United Hatzalah. Resembling Gilat, who died at the age of 11 in her native Holland, the dolls will be utilized by United Hatzalah volunteers to provide solace to young children and their families during medical emergencies.

Yair and Tali Eisenmann established the Gilat Foundation in 2009 to honor their daughter’s memory. It is devoted to offering interactive children’s theater in Holland’s hospitals for young patients who spend a significant portion of their lives confined to medical facilities, much like Gilat did.

The couple was inspired by the work of United Hatzalah since their aliyah in 2020. The dolls, donning United Hatzalah vests with Gilat’s name, will be used by volunteers to provide comfort and support to young children when treating them or their relatives. Tali Eisenmann also recently completed the organization’s EMT course and now volunteers as a first responder.

The couple also contributed 40-plus “smart” child and infant CPR manikins that can connect to a phone app to monitor the effectiveness of chest compressions, providing more advanced CPR training for United Hatzalah EMTs.

The Eisenmanns and Yair’s mother, Shoshanna Eisenmann, visited United Hatzalah headquarters in Jerusalem last week to present the dolls, to be used by members of the organization’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit (PCRU) who specialize in psychological first aid.

“Among children, traumatic events are intensified by feelings of helplessness, the inability to comprehend what is happening and the lost sense of security,” explained Hadas Rucham, head of training at the PCRU. “A doll serves as a bridging, projective tool that allows us, as first responders, to quickly establish a sense of kinship and trust in the field. Through these dolls, children can express their inner world, which aids in their coping with the traumatic experience.”

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“The impact extends far beyond the subway and the stadium. They are copied by children in the classroom who think it’s cool to use ‘Jew’ as a term of abuse.”

By Ben Cohen, Algemeiner

The arrest of more than 150 soccer fans on Saturday by Dutch police as they chanted antisemitic slogans on their way to a top-flight match in Amsterdam has been greeted as an “important” signal that hatred of Jews will no longer be met with impunity, the Netherlands national coordinator for combating antisemitism said on Monday.

The 154 supporters of Dutch team AZ Alkmaar were detained by police officers as they made their way to Saturday’s match against Amsterdam’s flagship side Ajax, which is widely regarded as a “Jewish” club in the mythology of Dutch soccer. As they traveled to the city’s Johan Cruyff Arena on the metro, police officers repeatedly ordered the fans to stop chanting antisemitic slogans that are frequently heard at soccer matches in the Netherlands, among them “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas,” “all Jews must die,” and “we burn Jews together, because Jews burn best.”

The metro was eventually stopped at the Strandvliet station at 7.30 pm, where police officers arrested the fans after they failed to heed repeated warnings to stop the chants, Dutch news outlet De Volksrant reported. Following the arrests, violence broke out on the bus transporting the fans to a local jail, with windows smashed and two police officers assaulted and verbally abused. Eleven fans subsequently spent the night in the cells. The public prosecutor is currently deliberating on whether to press further charges against the group.

The willingness of the police to overcome the logistical challenge of arresting large numbers of soccer fans proved that the Dutch authorities were no longer willing to tolerate antisemitic agitation, the Netherlands national coordinator for combating antisemitism, Eddo Verdoner, told Dutch media outlets.

“This is a signal that impunity does not exist,” Verdoner said. Referring to the observance of the annual Remembrance Day for World War II victims on May 4, Verdoner added that “we should learn from that: Antisemitism has no place in society.”

Verdoner emphasized that the scenes witnessed on Saturday should not be regarded as merely a problem in the country’s soccer stadiums.

“We shouldn’t pretend that these are ‘just’ antisemitic chants from football supporters,” he said. “The impact extends far beyond the subway and the stadium. They are copied by children in the classroom. They hear this in stadiums and think: it’s cool to use ‘Jew’ as a term of abuse. The tolerance, the indifference, it has to stop.”

The incident was widely condemned by Dutch officials, including Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, who called the chanting “unacceptable” and “painful.” Halsema has already adopted a tougher approach to antisemitic soccer fans, having earlier this year banned supporters of Ajax rivals PSV Eindhoven from attending a match in Amsterdam because of chants that targeted Jews at a previous game.

Separately, the management of AZ Alkmaar issued a statement condemning the chanting, while the city’s mayor, Anja Schouten, said she was “extremely angry and disappointed.”

“Antisemitism is unacceptable and does not belong anywhere, not in our municipality, not in football, not at AZ,” she stressed.

The post Mass arrest of antisemitic soccer fans ‘important’ milestone, says top official appeared first on World Israel News.

Last week, supporters of Dutch soccer team chanted “Hamas, Hamas, all the Jews to the gas.”

By World Israel News Staff

Some 154 soccer fans were arrested by police in The Netherlands late Saturday evening after singing an antisemitic soccer song, including lyrics referencing the burning of Jews and the Nazi party’s military branch, the SS.

The fans were reportedly riding the subway en route to the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam ahead of a game when they began singing the antisemitic anthem.

“My father was in the commandos, my mother was in the SS, together they burned Jews because Jews burn the best,” the fans sang.

In a statement, Dutch police said that “supporters were asked several times to stop singing” but refused to do so.

Authorities arrested the men on “group insult” charges and fined them each $570.

The detained men were fans of the AZ Alkmaar soccer club, which was facing off against Amsterdam’s Ajax, a team which has been historically associated with Jews.

“The Central Jewish Committee is satisfied with the decision to intervene and tackle antisemitism one step at a time,” said the head of the local Jewish advocacy group, Chanan Hertzberger, in a statement to Dutch media.

The match between Ajax and AZ Alkmaar ended in a goalless, 0-0 draw.

Notably, just a few days before that match, there was antisemitic chanting at a previous game between Ajax and Feyenoord. At that game, which took place on April 5th, a supporter of Feyenoord yelled “Hamas, Hamas, all the Jews to the gas,” outside of the stadium.

Other Feyenoord fans cheered and repeated the chant.

Naomi Mestrom, the director of Dutch-Jewish NGO CIDI, told RTL News that the incident made her feel “despondent.”

Mestrom said that antisemitic chant was “downright Jew-hatred,” emphasizing that her organization would help authorities identify the man who started the chanting.

“We are going to press charges against the person who held the microphone,” she said.

“I think there are excellent images [of the man]. And if Feyenoord believes they no longer want this kind of thing, they will also cooperate [with the investigation].”

The post ‘Jews burn best’ – 154 Dutch soccer fans arrested over antisemitic chants appeared first on World Israel News.

Greg Schneider of the Claims Conference breaks down the worrying new survey given to the Dutch about their knowledge of the Holocaust.

The post SHOCKING: Nazi views acceptable to significant percentage of Dutch youth appeared first on World Israel News.

Disgraced modeling agent who fled to the Netherlands will be extradited to Israel to stand trial for sexual assault charges, following Dutch court ruling.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli modeling agent accused of multiple cases of sexual assault is slated to be extradited to Israel after a Dutch court ruled in favor of a request filed by the Israeli State Attorney’s Office in September.

The suspect, Shai Avital, was arrested in Amsterdam in August, more than a year after Israeli authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in July 2021.

Avital, a dual citizen of Israel and Portugal – a European Union member state – has been accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment and indecent acts by 26 women. Of Avital’s 26 accusers, three claim he raped them.

Israel’s State Attorney’s Office cited just two of Avital’s accusers, however, in their extradition request, though prosecutors say they have strong evidence against Avital in a total of seven cases.

Prior to the accusations, Avital represented some of Israel’s most prominent models.

Last year, model and fashion designer Netan Alchemister, one of the top models at Avital’s firm, announced that she had cut all ties with Avital and his company.

According to a report by Ha’aretz, Israeli authorities tracked Avital’s movements after his departure from Israel and were aware of his location in Europe, but they delayed issuing an arrest request until Avital entered a country with fewer obstacles to extradition.

Israeli police have come under fire for their initial handling of the case. A model who attempted to file a criminal complaint against Avital claimed she was turned away from a Tel Aviv police station.

The model, Gal Gvaram, later took to social media to share the story with her followers, leading to an investigative report, which in turn prompted police to launch a criminal investigation.

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An antisemitic street gang has physically attacked and repeatedly harassed Dutch Jewish man since 2020, but victim says no arrest have been made.

By World Israel News Staff

A Jewish man from Holland spoke out about violent antisemitic harassment he has received for the past two years, and what he says is a lack of action on the part of the Dutch authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Kevin Ritstier, 34, told that Dutch newspaper de Gelderlander that he has been targeted by an antisemitic street gang, primarily a group of between seven and 15 young men, in his hometown of Wijchen in eastern Holland.

Ritstier said the harassment began after the men spotted Ritstier returning home from a Bar Mitzvah clad in a kippah [Jewish head covering] and Tallit [Jewish prayer shawl].

Since then, they have taunted him with antisemitic remarks, including “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas, [and] cancer Jew,” physically attacked him, and pounded on the front door of his home, where he lives with his wife and infant son.

After one attack, Ritsier said his leg was slashed and he was left with bruising and a split lip after being ambushed by the gang.

According to Ritstier, despite repeatedly phoning the police and filing a formal complaint after each incident of verbal and physical intimidation and harassment, his reports had resulted in the culprits receiving one fine and one “stop conversation,” in which the officers essentially told the perpetrators to knock it off.

Ritstier added that in one incident, the police subtly admonished him, as though his reporting the harassment was a burden to the authorities. “I was told that I called very often,” he said.

He noted that none of the perpetrators have been criminally prosecuted for the ongoing harassment, and that the police had told him it was due to a “lack of evidence.”

In a statement to de Gelderlander, the police said that they had always taken Ritstier’s requests “very seriously,” and said they couldn’t comment on the details of his situation due to privacy concerns.

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Dutch appeals court affirms lower court’s ruling that lawsuit targeting Gantz and other senior military official can’t be heard in the Netherlands.

By World Israel News Staff

An appeals court in the Netherlands affirmed a lower court’s ruling on Tuesday that current Defense Minister Benny Gantz cannot be held legally responsible for the deaths of six Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.

At the time, Gantz served as the IDF’s Chief of Staff. As Israel’s highest military official, he became the subject of a lawsuit seeking to hold him responsible for alleged war crimes.

Ismail Ziada, a resident of the Netherlands originally from Gaza, sued Gantz and former Air Force commander Amir Eshel in a Dutch court for ordering an air strike that resulted in the deaths of six of his family members during the conflict.

Citing universal jurisdiction, which holds that charges of war crimes and torture can be heard by any court, even one that’s not located in the area where the alleged crime took place, Ziada filed his case in the Netherlands.

But in January 2020, the Hague district court ruled that it could not hear the matter, as Ziada was seeking financial compensation and that Gantz and Eshel possess “functional immunity from jurisdiction.”

Ziada had argued that the suggestion he file his lawsuit in Israel was “farcical as well as vicious.”

The Hague Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday that the lower court’s decision to reject the lawsuit was correct.

The court could not rule on Gantz and Eshel’s decisions made in the context of a military conflict because “a judgment on their actions will necessarily include a judgment on the actions of the State of Israel,” the judges wrote.

Israel’s Deputy Attorney General Roy Schondorf praised the ruling, writing on Twitter that the decision sets an “important legal precedent that safeguards Israel’s military commanders as a whole against similar [legal] attempts.”

According to AP reports, Hamas acknowledged that the air strike that killed Ziada’s family members also killed four members of the terror group, who were hiding in the same building.

Reuters and AP contributed to this report.

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The suspect is accused of vandalizing Kosher restaurant in May last year, the sixth attack on the restaurant in recent years.

By Associated Press

A man who allegedly vandalized a kosher restaurant in Amsterdam last year, smashing a window and ramming an Israeli flag through the hole, acted with terrorist intent, prosecutors alleged Wednesday.

The prosecutors asked a court in Amsterdam to order the man to undergo psychiatric treatment at a secure facility and impose a sentence of 418 days’ imprisonment — the length of time he has been jailed since his arrest.

The 32-year-old suspect is accused of the vandalism at the HaCarmel restaurant in May last year, the sixth attack targeting the restaurant in recent years.

Prosecutors explained in a statement why they called it a terror attack.

“On the one hand, we are talking of ‘only’ a broken window and burned flag. On the other hand, we are dealing with a case that has caused a great deal of commotion, emotions and fear. The suspect’s actions caused great fear in society.”

The suspect was convicted two years ago of vandalism at the same restaurant. Prosecutors did not link that attack to terrorism, but say the circumstances are different now.

A bureau that analyzed the suspect concluded that he is “radicalized, holds extremist ideas and acted based on that ideology,” prosecutors said, adding that his actions are based on a pro-Palestinian sentiment.

The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on July 14.

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Dutch education ministry urged to clamp down on ‘Free Palestine’ anti-Semitic bullying.

By Ben Cohen, The Algemeiner

A Dutch parliamentarian is demanding that the Ministry of Education in The Netherlands take urgent measures to combat antisemitism in schools, following the publication of a shocking article that exposed the antisemitic bullying which some Jewish students suffered during the armed conflict in May between Israel and the Hamas regime in Gaza.

In a letter delivered on Tuesday to Dutch education ministers Arie Slob and Ingrid van Engelshoven, the conservative parliamentarian Roelof Bisschop pointedly asked whether they were aware of the June 14 article in the Nieuw Israëlietisch Weekblad, a Dutch Jewish newspaper, that was headlined “My child doesn’t want to be Jewish anymore.”

Through interviews with parents whose names were changed to protect their identities, the article by journalist Esther Voet presented in disturbing detail the ordeals experienced by several Jewish children attending different public schools in The Netherlands.

One Israeli-born mother of three teenagers, who gave her name as “Anna,” said that her two youngest children felt compelled to hide the fact that they are Jews because of the vilification of Israel by classmates, often with the knowledge of their teachers.

“My middle child just changed schools and hasn’t told anyone there that he’s Jewish,” Anna said. “When classmates ask him why he has such a Jewish first name, he replies that it is a Mormon, Biblical name.”

She went on to express concern that her youngest child “has the worst insults thrown at her.

“‘Your mother is Israeli, your family kills people and your mother does that too,’ they yelled at her,” Anna said. “I kept her at home for two days after that, she was so depressed.”

Anna said that her daughter had told her she no longer wants to identify as Jewish. “‘Mama,’ she said when she got home one day, ‘I want to convert to Catholicism,’” Anna recalled. “‘From now on I no longer want presents for Chanukah, but for Christmas.’ I tried to persuade her that being Jewish can also be fun, but I couldn’t convince her.”

Another parent, who gave her name as “Judith,” said that her son, previously a top athlete at his school, had withdrawn from sports after a locker room incident in which another student asked, in an intimidating manner, whether there were any Jews present.

During the fighting in Gaza, her son resignedly told her, “Mom, everyone is really very much against Israel. At school, on social media, everyone. It won’t get any better.”

Judith explained that despite her desire to visit the school and address the problems faced by her son, he had not wanted her to do so.

“I would like to go to the school to discuss this, but he stops me,” she said. “I also don’t want to apologize to third parties for Israel’s actions. I don’t want to say, ‘I don’t agree with what Israel is doing’. Israel is very restrained in my eyes and it is unjustly reviled. I now think every day about leaving the Netherlands. Only caring for my elderly mother is holding me back.”

Another Israeli mother, who gave her name as “Merav,” said that her daughter, Tali, had been pressured by classmates into giving her opinion on the conflict. When Tali responded that she supported Israel without agreeing with all of its actions, this remark was shared on social media, resulting in the comment, “they should have gassed her.”

Merav reflected that the fear instilled in Dutch Jewish school students was the result of “a process that has been going on for a long time.”

“When Tali was still in primary school, we always had a friend of hers over here,” she elaborated. “He often sat at the Shabbat table with us. Until he suddenly became one of the biggest name-callers and started yelling ‘c__ Jew’ at her. When I confronted his parents about it, I got no response.”

In his letter to the Dutch education ministry, member of parliament Bisschop pressed the officials to clarify “whether the situation for Jewish students is not safe enough for them to attend school.” He also asked whether the ministry was willing to finance educational initiatives to counter antisemitism in schools.

The reports of antisemitic bullying came as CIDI, a Dutch Jewish organization that monitors anti-Semitism, disclosed that anti-Semitic incidents had reached a “new peak” during the May conflict.

In an opinion piece in the latest edition of the Dutch weekly EW, Aron Vieler — CIDI’s policy officer — recounted the experience of another Jewish school student who was told it was “too bad” she hadn’t been gassed by the Nazis. On another occasion, she was called a “dirty Jew,” while her friends were bullied into cutting contact with her.

“Remarkably similar incidents have been reported from several schools,” Vieler wrote. “Everyone noticed that it started exactly the day after the weekend of anti-Israel demonstrations in the major cities, on May 16 and 17.”

He continued: “The bullying behavior remains under the radar, because children mainly feel obliged to solve their problems independently, to not be pathetic and certainly not to ‘whine.’ Dutch sobriety stands in the way of understanding what exactly is going on.”

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Seventy-eight years after the notorious Nazi death camp closed, archaeologists uncover ID tags of children murdered in the camp.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli archeological team working at the infamous Sobibor extermination camp where the Nazis murdered a quarter of a million people unearthed the identity tags worn by four young Jewish children deported by the Nazis, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday.

The personal identity tags made of metal belonged to four Dutch children aged 5–to-11 from Amsterdam and were retrieved from archaeological excavations conducted at the camp. The tags were worn like pendants around the neck and bear their names, date of birth and the name of their home town.

The archaeological dig is being carried out prior to the construction of the new visitors center at the camp by a team from Israel, Poland and Holland.

The tags appear to have been made by the parents of Lea Judith De La Penha, Deddie Zak, Annie Kapper, and David Juda Van der Velde.

“As far as we know, identity tags with children’s names have only been found at Sobibor, and nowhere else,” said Israeli archaeologist Yoram Haimi. “The children’s identity tags were prepared by their parents, who were probably desperate to ensure that the children’s relatives could be located in the chaos of the Second World War.”

“Lea, Annie and Deddie’s tags have enabled us to link faces and stories to the names, which until now had only been anonymous entries in Nazi lists. Archaeological excavation provides us with an opportunity to tell the victims’ stories and to honor their memory,” Haimi added.

Deddie was deported to the camp on the so-called Kindertransport, named after the large number of children it carried to their death. About a third of the 3,017 Jews deported to Sobibor from the Vught Via Westerbork concentration camp were children aged 4–to-8, many of them without parents. Deddie, 8 years old, was murdered with his family when they reached Sobibor camp on June 11, 1943.

“I have been excavating this site for 10 years, but today I broke down,” Haimi said. “We stood with the tags in the field, near the incinerators, called the center, and gave them the names. The response was immediate. We received photos of young, smiling children on our phones.”

“The hardest part was hearing that one of the children whose tag we were holding in our hand, arrived in Sobibor in a delivery of children aged 4 to 8 who were sent here to die alone. I looked at the pictures and asked myself – how can anyone be so cruel?”

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A Dutch police spokesman said the chants could lead to arrests.

By Algemeiner Staff

A group protesting coronavirus restrictions in the Netherlands shouted “Heil Hitler” in the streets of the city of Den Bosch on Saturday.

Public broadcaster Omroep Brabant reported that video posted to Twitter showed the demonstrators shouting the antisemitic slogan, and police are examining the footage for possible criminal acts.

“This could ultimately lead to arrests,” a police spokesman said.

The demonstration, numbering 200 to 300 people, began outside the stadium of local soccer team FC Den Bosch, and the activists them began walking through the streets.

This was reportedly in violation of agreements made with the municipality, resulting in two of the demonstrators being arrested.

Footage of one of the protesters:

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