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A proud Syrian Jew fled to Amsterdam to escape abuse. Since Oct. 7, he’s been afraid to sleep in his own apartment.
(JTA) — When Shevan arrived in the Netherlands as a refugee of the Syrian Civil War, he picked up running. The habit helped him combat traumatic memories from his home country, where he was arrested for participating in peaceful demonstrations against the Assad regime in 2011.
During six months in prison, Shevan says he was tortured, raped and abused. He fled to Lebanon after his release and registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which allowed him to resettle in the Netherlands in 2013. Now 33 years old, the gay, Jewish Syrian works as an activist for LGBTQ causes and human rights.
He planned to run the Amsterdam Marathon this year with a Ukrainian flag, showing his solidarity with the country that has suffered thousands of casualties since Russia’s invasion that began in February 2022. Then a week before the marathon, war erupted between Israel and Hamas.
So Shevan carried three flags during the race on Oct. 15. He added an Israeli flag to honor the 1,400 Israelis killed and over 200 taken hostage by Hamas. And he ran with a Palestinian flag to support civilians in the Gaza Strip, whose health ministry has reported over 8,000 people killed by Israeli airstrikes amid a desperate humanitarian crisis.
Shevan hoped that running 26 miles with three flags on his back would promote his belief in peace and security for all people, from the Middle East to Europe. But three days after the marathon, he found a red swastika and Star of David painted across the window of his ground-floor apartment in Utrecht.
“I ran for peace,” said Shevan, who asked the Jewish Telegraphic Agency not to use his last name for fear of further retaliation. “What more should I do? I ran, for God’s sake, with three flags. This situation has just pushed me to be crazy.”
Shevan said he has been targeted as a Jew in the Netherlands well before this year’s Israel-Hamas war, too. Last year, he found his front door covered in swastikas, Stars of David and the word “Juden.” In 2021, while wearing a kippah on the train, he was assaulted by a Dutch man who called him a “dirty Jew” and other antisemitic curses. Over the years he has filed multiple reports with the police, but they have never made an arrest.
Since Oct. 7, Shevan has been extra careful. He no longer wears a kippah in public and he removed the mezuzah and the sign reading “Shalom” in Hebrew and English from his front door. After the attack on his window, he stopped sleeping in his own home. He uses his apartment during the day and stays with friends overnight.
“What I face right now, of course it’s not like Syria,” he said. “But I would like once in my life to have justice. I don’t want anyone to call me ‘dirty Jew,’ or ‘dirty gay,’ or ‘dirty whatever.’ I just would like to live in peace.”
Dutch Jews often report a ripple of backlash when there is fighting in Israel, according to Naomi Mestrum, director of the Center for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI), a group that tracks antisemitism in the Netherlands.
Only about 30,000 Jews live in the Netherlands. The community was decimated by the Holocaust, when roughly 100,000 were killed in death camps. Today, many Dutch people lack education on their own country’s Jewish history; earlier this year, a Claims Conference survey reported that a majority of Dutch residents did not know the Holocaust took place there.
A view of the recent vandalism on Shevan’s window. (Courtesy)
The lack of familiarity and knowledge about Jews can inflame prejudice, said Mestrum. It can also aggravate the conflation of Jewish people in the Netherlands with the actions of the Israeli government.
“The community is very small, and that means that most people in the Netherlands might have never even met a Jew,” she told JTA. “It makes them like strange creatures that are far away — it’s the unknown.”
Like other parts of Europe and the United States, the Netherlands has seen public fury boil over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and the enclave’s ensuing humanitarian crisis. Thousands of Dutch protestors have demanded a ceasefire and increased aid in Gaza, including some activists who occupied the entry to the International Criminal Court in The Hague last week.
Shevan sympathizes with voices calling for peace. He has visited Israel and met both Israelis and Palestinians who advocate for a peaceful resolution to the decades-old conflict, including the Canadian-Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver, who was abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7. But he was appalled when a Dutch neighbor, apparently outraged at the Israeli government, turned her sights toward him.
“When the war started between Israel and Hamas, I was in the supermarket and she asked me, ‘How many Palestinians did your people kill today?’” he said. “What kind of a question is this, for God’s sake? How many Palestinians did my people kill today — my people? What do you mean by my people?”
Esther Voet is the editor-in-chief of the Nieuw Israelietisch Weekblad, known in English as the Dutch Jewish Weekly. It is the oldest news magazine in the Netherlands — operating since 1865 — and the country’s only Jewish weekly, boasting a readership between 20,000 and 25,000 in a country of only 30,000 Jews.
After Hamas’ Oct, 7 attacks, Voet said her staff was inundated with calls. Many subscribers pleaded for a change in the delivery procedure: They did not want their magazines to arrive in its usual transparent plastic cover. If the magazine did not change its packaging, some readers said they would cancel their subscriptions.
“We decided to put it in a white anonymous envelope, so that their neighbors do not know they are Jewish,” Voet told JTA.
A recent cover of the Nieuw Israelietisch Weekblad reads “We are one.” (Courtesy of Esther Voet)
At CIDI, Mestrum has also been overwhelmed with calls from tense Jewish families.
“We are getting a lot of phone calls from parents that are worried about their kids going to school,” she said. “We have incidents of kids getting very nasty comments, praising Hitler or praising Hamas for finishing Hitler’s job.”
On Oct. 13, Amsterdam’s three Jewish schools closed as a precautionary measure, following a former Hamas leader’s call for street protests across the Muslim world that day. Some of the city’s synagogues have reported a rise in threats over recent weeks.
Chanan Hertzberger, chairman of the Central Jewish Board of the Netherlands, told JTA that his organization has pushed for increased security around the country’s synagogues and Jewish schools. Authorities in several Dutch cities were quick to shore up their protection around Jewish institutions after Hamas’ attacks, and Prime Minister Mark Rutte said his government has been “extra alert” to the issue.
But many members of the Jewish community are still fearful, said Hertzberger. And as they see antisemitism flaring in their backyard, many can no longer view Israel as a safe refuge.
“The community got a big blow,” he said. “We always regarded Israel as the place where we can always go, no matter what happens.”
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The post A proud Syrian Jew fled to Amsterdam to escape abuse. Since Oct. 7, he’s been afraid to sleep in his own apartment. appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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New Pope Calls for Continued ‘Precious Dialogue’ Between Jews and Catholics
Pope Leo XIV holds an audience with representatives of the media in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, May 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
On Monday, Pope Leo XIV met with Jewish leaders and other representatives from the world’s religious traditions to nourish continued interfaith bridge-building.
Echoing a letter he sent to the American Jewish Committee on May 8 pledging to strengthen Catholic-Jewish relations in the tradition of the church’s Second Vatican Council’s Nostra Aetate statement, the Pope emphasized that “because of the Jewish roots of Christianity, all Christians have a special relationship with Judaism.” He called the theological exchange between the two groups “ever important and close to my heart,” stating that “even in these difficult times, marked by conflicts and misunderstandings, it is necessary to continue the momentum of this precious dialogue of ours.”
Leo praised all the faith leaders in attendance at the meeting, saying that “in a world wounded by violence and conflict, each of the communities represented here brings its own contribution of wisdom, compassion, and commitment to the good of humanity and the preservation of our common home.”
Jewish groups in attendance at the Pope’s meeting included the American Jewish Committee (represented by Rabbi Noam Marans, director of Inter-religious Affairs), B’nai B’rith International, the Conference of European Rabbis, and the Jewish Community of Rome as represented by the city’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni. Marans gave Leo a Chicago White Sox hat, which inspired a big smile from the Chicago-born pontiff. “We’re starting off on the right foot,” Marans said.
“As an exponent of religious values and ethnical monotheism, it is hoped that Pope Leo will find common cause with Jewish organisations,” Zaki Cooper, vice-president of the Council of Christians and Jews, wrote in a Friday column in the United Kingdom’s Jewish News. “This could cover a range of moral issues such as the environment, the family, technology or anti-slavery. One of Pope Francis’ memorable interventions, in 2018, was to praise the value of Shabbat, saying ‘what the Jews followed, and still observe, was to consider the Sabbath as holy.’”
Yaron Sideman, Israel’s ambassador to the Vatican, said that he and Leo “both stand for something much bigger than geopolitical entities.” He said “you can’t separate dialogue with Jewish people and the state where half of Jewish people live. This is where it needs to be fundamentally restructured.”
In a Wednesday article for EJewishPhilanthropy.com, historian Stessa Peers summarized the efforts of recent Popes to nourish Jewish-Catholic brotherhood following the issuing of Nostra Aetate.
“Popes have taken meaningful steps toward repair. Pope John Paul II visited synagogues, met with Holocaust survivors and called Jews ‘our elder brothers,’” Peers wrote. “Pope Benedict XVI, born in Nazi Germany, continued that work. Pope Francis, who led the Church beginning in 2013, met regularly with Jewish leaders, condemned antisemitism unequivocally and prioritized healing. His comments on Jewish law were not always perfect, but he engaged sincerely with criticism and reaffirmed his respect. His presence at Jewish sites like the Western Wall and Yad Vashem shifted the tone of Catholic–Jewish relations.”
Rabbi Joshua Stanton, who leads the Jewish Federations of North America’s interfaith efforts, said that Leo “is known for working well with people quietly” and that he hoped for a “return to the direct, frank dialogue between friends that can take place behind closed doors.”
Adam Gregerman, co-director of St. Joseph’s Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations, told OSV News that “the locus of many of the major improvements in Jewish-Christian relations since the Second Vatican Council have taken place in the U.S., owing above all to the size of these communities and the regular, fruitful interactions between them. It is thus encouraging to see the elevation of an American as pope.” He said that “given his roots in a diverse American society, I know many Jews are excited about his selection.”
Leo also emphasized the importance of Muslim-Catholic relations, calling the cross-cultural conversation “marked by a growing commitment to dialogue and fraternity, fostered by esteem for these our brothers and sisters who ‘worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has also spoken to humanity.”
Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, wrote on X that “we look forward to continuing our collaboration with His Holiness in strengthening interfaith dialogue and promoting the values of human fraternity, in pursuit of global peace, coexistence, and a better future for all humanity.”
The post New Pope Calls for Continued ‘Precious Dialogue’ Between Jews and Catholics first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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New York City and Israel Sign Declaration of Intent for New Council to Foster Economic, Business Partnerships
A New York City Police officer monitors the “Israel Day on Fifth” parade in New York City, U.S., May 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat signed a Declaration of Intent on Monday to establish a joint initiative that will further economic and business ties as well as innovation between the two governments.
The New York City–Israel Economic Council will focus on fostering business partnerships between the city of New York and Israel in economic development, emergency management, education, and technology. It will help Israeli businesses and startups that want to establish a presence in New York City; support collaboration in sectors including environmental innovation, life sciences, and artificial intelligence; and coordinate participation in major business and technology conferences.
The council will meet regularly and will be comprised of representatives from the New York City Mayor’s Office and Israel’s Economic Mission to the United States. Adams’ Office for International Affairs is leading the initiative. The Declaration of Intent signed by Adams and Barkat on Monday is non-binding but highlights a commitment between the two governments to collaborate and build partnerships.
Mayor Adams said on Monday that the council will “serve as a gateway to the US market for Israeli businesses.”
“Today’s announcement of a Declaration of Intent reflects a proud tradition of New York City mayors collaborating with Israel, and will drive innovation, create jobs, and strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two governments,” the mayor added.
“The NYC–Israel Economic Council represents both strategic partnership and moral clarity,” said Moshe Davis, the executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, which was announced earlier this month. “As antisemitism rises globally, New York City is responding with substantive collaboration in key sectors like environmental innovation and artificial intelligence. This council will not only drive opportunity and growth, it will demonstrate that the world’s greatest city stands firmly with Israel and the Jewish people.”
New York City is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.
The post New York City and Israel Sign Declaration of Intent for New Council to Foster Economic, Business Partnerships first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jewish Simpsons Mural Defaced by Antisemitic, Pro-Palestinian Vandals at Shoah Memorial in Milan
The mural “The Jewish Simpsons Deported to Auschwitz” before and after it was vandalized. Photo: Provided
A mural on the external wall of the Shoah Memorial in Milan, Italy, that depicts the Simpsons family as Jews being deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp was recently defaced by pro-Palestinian vandals.
The pop art mural “The Jewish Simpsons Deported to Auschwitz” was created by contemporary Italian pop artist and activist AleXsandro Palombo and debuted on Jan. 27, 2023, in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. It features Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson as Jews wearing outfits that feature a yellow Star of David badge with the word “Jude” in the center. Nazis forced Jews to wear a similar badge on their clothing during the Holocaust. Palombo’s team said the artist used contemporary figures such as the Simpsons to educate the public, especially younger generations, about the importance of remembrance and the duty to never forget the horrors of the Holocaust.
Pro-Palestinian vandals almost completely ripped off the images of Marge, Lisa and Maggie Simpson from the mural and replaced them with a message written in red paint that said “Free Pal,” which is short for “Free Palestine.” The Star of David badge on Homer’s overcoat was also torn off and the Star of David badge worn by Bart was covered in red paint.
“Little remains of the iconic work: only a grave antisemitic defacement, which has transformed a tribute to memory into an expression of hatred,” Palombo’s media relations team said on Sunday in response to the vandalism. “Today, [the] work has been brutally erased and turned into a disturbing political manifesto, steeped in antisemitism. This act is yet another stark reminder that antisemitic hatred is on the rise, even in places devoted to memory and reflection … At a time when antisemitism is surging globally, acts like this take on even greater gravity. This is not merely vandalism, but a deliberate attack on memory, culture, and the core values of human rights.”
Palombo has dedicated several murals over the years to Holocaust remembrance and antisemitism. They include depictions of Holocaust teenage diarist and victim Anne Frank wearing a concentration camp uniform and holding an Israeli flag while standing beside a Palestinian girl who burns the Hamas flag. Palombo also created a mural that depicted a boy from the Warsaw Ghetto reimagined as a hostage of Hamas terrorists.
After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel, Palombo unveiled a mural in Milan dedicated to Vlada Patapov, a young survivor of the Hamas attack at the Nova music festival. Shortly after its unveiling, the artwork was vandalized and Patapov’s head was erased.
A number of Palombo’s murals that feature Italian Holocaust survivors Liliana Segre, Sami Modiano and Edith Bruck have been repeatedly vandalized. In January, the Museum of the Shoah in Rome acquired several of Palombo’s murals that were vandalized and then restored. The artworks are part of the museum’s permanent collection and displayed in Rome’s ancient Jewish Ghetto, facing the Portico of Octavia.
The post Jewish Simpsons Mural Defaced by Antisemitic, Pro-Palestinian Vandals at Shoah Memorial in Milan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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