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‘We Have Had Enough’: Dutch Jews Demand Action Against Rising Antisemitic Harassment

Supporters of Hamas demonstrate in Amsterdam on March 23. Photo: Reuters/Romy Arroyo Fernandez

Jewish community leaders in The Netherlands issued a plaintive warning on Thursday concerning the continuing rise of antisemitism in the country, declaring: “We have had enough.”

In common with other EU member states, antisemitism has risen precipitously in The Netherlands since the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in Israel, with an 800 percent increase in the number of incidents recorded in the weeks immediately following the terrorist organization’s atrocities. Approximately 30,000 Jews live in The Netherlands.

High profile incidents this year have included an angry demonstration by pro-Hamas activists outside a new museum dedicated to the Holocaust, the disruption of a concert by a popular Dutch singer who has family ties to Israel, and the vicious harassment of a Jewish woman resident in an Amsterdam suburb by neighbors who discovered that her daughter serves in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Speaking to the newspaper De Telegraaf, Chanan Hertzberger — the chair of the CJO Jewish communal organization — revealed that his son had been beaten up by antisemites after he played in a soccer match. “Our youth is no longer safe at educational institutions: they are canceled, attacked, intimidated,” Hertzberger said. “It is rife and we have had enough. We are normal Dutch people and also want to be considered and treated as such. Our civil liberties are at stake; more and more Jews feel threatened and intimidated and are hiding Jewish symbols.”

Hertzberger slammed Dutch politicians for offering assurances in private but doing little to stem the antisemitic tide in public. “Where are the Ministers of Education, Mariëlle Paul and Robbert Dijkgraaf?” he asked. He also criticized former deputy prime minister Wouter Koolmees, who took over as the CEO of Netherlands Railways (NS) last October, for failing to prevent supporters of Hamas from blockading 15 train stations around the country in a series of protests during January and February.

“I was in contact with Koolmees about the sit-ins at the stations. He shows good will, but cannot do anything about it, he says. But can he at least openly say that he has major problems with those actions?” Hertzberger continued.

Hertzberger’s comments coincided with widespread coverage in the Dutch press of a Jewish woman in the Amsterdam suburb of Amstelveen who was intimidated and threatened outside her own home on Wednesday by Hamas supporters. She has also been targeted with a series of obscenely-worded leaflets in her neighborhood highlighting the fact that her daughter is a soldier in the IDF.

“Neighborhood residents pay attention! A child murderer lives nearby! This genocidal maniac has recently returned from her murderous activities and will be tried soon. As local residents, you have the right to know that such an individual can get close to your children,” one leaflet declared. It also specified the names of both the woman and her daughter, her address, and her place of work, claiming: “She sent her pussy daughter to Israel to kill babies. She is also an accomplice!”

However, Dutch police remain unwilling to classify the woman’s ordeal as an antisemitic incident. “Only when we know the whole story will we see what exactly we are dealing with,” a spokesperson for the Amsterdam police told the broadcaster RTL on Thursday.

Meanwhile, last weekend, Hamas supporters wrecked a concert in the city of Waalwijk by a popular Dutch singer, Lenny Kuhr. Now aged 74, Kuhr converted to Judaism in the 1970s when she married an Israeli man, and has children and grandchildren living in Israel, one of whom reportedly serves in the IDF. As Kuhr was performing last Saturday, a group of pro-Hamas thugs stormed the stage, screaming epithets including “terrorist” and “murderer” at the veteran singer.

Subsequently, Palestine Action NL — an antisemitic, pro-Hamas campaign group — threatened to carry out similar actions at other concerts given by Kuhr during her current concert tour. In response, Dutch Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz condemned the attack on Kuhr as antisemitic. “This has nothing to do with being pro-Palestine,” she said. “It is anti-Jew. Let us name and treat this for what it is.”

On Tuesday evening, a group of Dutch parliamentarians issued a statement decrying “the horrifying return of Jew-hatred” and calling for it to “stop, now.” Two parliamentary factions — the far right Forum for Democracy (FvD) and DENK, a pro-Islamist party launched by two MPs of Turkish origin — refused to sign the statement.

Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte also spoke out against the rise in antisemitism, telling the Council of Ministers on Thursday that he was “very concerned that people in the Netherlands with a Jewish background are currently being harassed because of that background, and because of the situation in Israel.”

The post ‘We Have Had Enough’: Dutch Jews Demand Action Against Rising Antisemitic Harassment first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Caitlin Jenner to Participate in Tel Aviv Pride Parade for 1st time

Caitlyn Jenner speaking at the 2018 Champions of Jewish Values International Awards Gala. Photo: Screenshot.

i24 NewsCaitlyn Jenner, the former Olympic champion and leading figure in the transgender community, will participate in the Tel Aviv Pride Parade for the first time, scheduled for June 13.

The Israeli Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, as well as the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality, will host her for three days during the city’s Pride events. The program for the media personality, who has over 15 million followers on social media, includes a press conference before the festivities. Jenner will also explore the country’s tourist attractions with a visit to Jerusalem.

This visit is part of a broader diplomatic strategy, including international journalists who will tour the country, meet with representatives of the gay community, and attend various events, hosted by the Tourism Ministry. Six delegations of LGBTQ+ influencers from around the world are expected this year by the Foreign Ministry. These groups, composed of representatives from civil society, the media, academia, and digital influencers, will visit community organizations in Jerusalem, Beersheba, Haifa, and Tel Aviv.

Authorities are presenting this initiative as a demonstration that “the Jewish state remains the only democracy in the Middle East where everyone is accepted, regardless of religion, race, or gender.” Tel Aviv is described as “a symbol of openness and acceptance of others.” The influence of Jenner, an award-winning cultural and television icon, transcends American political divides, reaching both liberal and conservative audiences.

The post Caitlin Jenner to Participate in Tel Aviv Pride Parade for 1st time first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Body of Mohammed Sinwar Recovered from Gaza, Taken to Israel

A screengrab shows according to the Israeli Army, Hamas Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar, taken from a handout video, released Dec/ 17, 2023. Photo: Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS

i24 NewsDuring excavations carried out recently in the area of ​​the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, several bodies were found – i24NEWS learned on Sunday that one belonged to late Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, which is now being held in Israel.

On Saturday night, the Israel Defense Forces published documentation from the underground space located under the European Hospital in Khan Yunis. The tunnels include a command and control complex from which the fighting was conducted by senior Hamas commanders. During the scans, several additional bodies of terrorists were found.

About three weeks ago, Israel heavily shelled the hospital area, targeting the underground space below it, where the terrorist organization’s headquarters was located. In recent days, Israeli forces have been operating in the area, with an emphasis on underground tunnels, and have located the body. The IDF’s recovery of Sinwar’s body contradicts a previous report, according to which Hamas recovered his body from the tunnel under the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, and buried it in a tunnel in the Deir al-Balah area.

Sinwar was one of the senior and veteran figures in Hamas’ military wing, and took a significant part in the planning and execution of the murderous massacre on October 7, 2023, in which he served as head of the operations headquarters. After the assassination of military commander Mohammed Deif, Sinwar was appointed by his brother, late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, to the position. He was an influential and central factor in the organization’s decision-making, promoting Hamas’s effort to rehabilitate after IDF operations.

Now, Israel possesses the bodies of both Sinwar brothers, with much of the Hamas leadership eliminated in the more than 600 days since the war began.

The post Body of Mohammed Sinwar Recovered from Gaza, Taken to Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hamas Militants Kill Gaza Civilians, Publicly Asserting Brutal Control

A drone view shows buildings lying in ruins, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, Jan. 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Al-Basos

i24 NewsThe Israeli army released footage from the Gaza Strip on Sunday showing a Palestinian brutally shot dead in public by what the military claims is a Hamas militant.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, General Ghassan Alian, released the footage via military channels. According to the official statement, the brutal execution took place last weekend in a Gaza City square, in front of witnesses. Israeli military authorities described the footage as “exceptional documentation” illustrating the Islamist movement’s methods against its own population.

General Alian addressed the residents of Gaza directly in a statement – “Hamas, terrorists, and criminals are killing you and do not care about your lives,” he said. “There is no difference between a dictator who kills in silence and a terrorist who massacres openly. Both are your enemies and the enemies of life.”

Alian described the act as “a desperate, further, and failed attempt to sow public fear in order to preserve Hamas’s rule, power, and governance, while cynically trampling on and exploiting the residents of Gaza for the survival of the Hamas terrorist regime and the preservation of its rule.”

Meanwhile, the IDF is intensifying its operations in key flashpoints in Gaza, particularly in Jabalia and Khan Yunis. Military forces continue to reach areas where they were not previously present.

The post Hamas Militants Kill Gaza Civilians, Publicly Asserting Brutal Control first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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