Amsterdam’s flood of hatred

When I think of the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, I picture beautiful canals, people cycling around safely, neat rows of tall narrow homes, and a peaceful life. I also have thoughts of a slightly more bohemian lifestyle, where those who fancy the fragrant weed have been able to buy it openly and smoke what was against the law here for decades.

Never in my worst nightmares would I have had pictures of people chasing Jews to harm, humiliate, spit on, force them to say, ‘Free Palestine’, and worse. However, from here on in, I will never forget those images of Amsterdam following the violence against Jews this past week.

I’m well aware that the Netherlands hasn’t always been a happy place for Jews. Our most important child icon of the Holocaust, Anne Frank, and her family, were hidden from the Nazis in the attic of an Amsterdam house for more than two years, from 1942 to 1944. They were then betrayed and sent off to be killed in concentration camps.

During the Holocaust, when the Netherlands was occupied by Germany, more than 70% of the Jews who lived there before the war were murdered by the Nazis and their Dutch collaborators. This percentage was far higher than in Belgium or France. Before the Holocaust, there were more than 142 000 Jews in the Netherlands. Today, there are somewhere between 29 800 and 45 000, with about 15 000 in Amsterdam.

But World War II was a long time ago, or so we all believed, and antisemitism seemed to be something of the past, something we learnt lessons from. Or so we thought …

Last Thursday night was a wake-up call to the whole Jewish world that violent antisemitism is alive and well and living in Amsterdam.

The videos of people being chased, beaten, spat on, and kicked, were shocking. Why did this happen? I understand and have witnessed football hooliganism. It exists and is ugly, but what we witnessed after the Ajax versus Maccabi Tel Aviv match wasn’t that. It was hunting, trapping, and harming Jews because they are Jews.

I do understand that before the match, the Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were obnoxious, badly behaved, and deserve censure. But they didn’t deserve what they got. This disgusting philosophy that when Jews get beaten and brutalised, they must have brought it on themselves, is pure antisemitism. More than a year after the 7 October massacre, no matter how much proof there is, there are way too many people who swear that Israelis brought it on themselves.

Never mind that the very people who were massacred, raped, and burnt alive were the same people who were fighting to build bridges across the borders, helping Palestinians in Gaza and supporting a two-state solution. They were the Israelis who did what they could to break down barriers between Palestinians and Jews, but somehow, it’s made out that they asked for it.

I guess, it’s the same thing as saying that when a woman wears a short skirt or a form-fitting outfit, she’s asking to be raped. Or perhaps was just in the wrong place at the wrong time … Really? It’s despicable logic, if you can call it logic at all.

However, the violence, blamed by some on Jewish sports fans, didn’t stop on the night of the match. On Monday night, four nights later, Jews were still reeling from the ongoing attacks.

News reports spoke of masked rioters throwing firecrackers at a tram, shouting, “Jews are cancer”, igniting the empty tram and causing its windows to be blown out.

Dutch leaders were clear that this antisemitism was unacceptable. Dutch King Willem-Alexander told Israeli President Isaac Herzog last Friday, “We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night, we failed again.”

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said the violence brought back memories of pogroms. “It’s deeply damaging to the city. Jewish culture has been deeply threatened. This is an outburst of antisemitism that I hope never to see again,” she said.

There’s no doubt this behaviour is devastating and unacceptable in the extreme. Though so many people around the world are concerned about the Jewish community in South Africa, we don’t have that kind of antisemitism. Thank G-d!

We have horrible people like our page three disgrace, Mehmet Vefa Dag, who says the most despicable things about Jews right under our noses, but in truth, not many take him seriously, if at all.

It’s not to say that we don’t have haters, we do, and we have a real problem in that the most powerful political party in our country has taken sides against the Jewish state. However, we walk around freely with our Jewish insignia, and live a wonderful Jewish life here. Generally speaking, we live among the general population, which we treat with respect and get that same respect in return. South Africans are good people!

We don’t know that level of antisemitism around the world, and our community continues to thrive.

This will be so evident this weekend when we celebrate the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards on Sunday. It’s at this incredible annual gala event that we truly see the calibre of the people in our community. What an absolute treat! We have so much to be proud of, and so much to celebrate.

In truth, every person nominated in the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards is an achiever because that’s why they were put forward in the first place. However, there can really only be one winner in every category every year, which is unfortunate. I salute every single nominee for having the courage to put themselves forward. Kol hakavod to you!

This year, we celebrate not just one year of achievers, but 25 years of icons of our community.

This weekend, we’ll also participate in the Shabbos Project, an annual event that has spread across the globe. Launched in 2013 by Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein, it has grown exponentially around the world. Today, Jews everywhere look forward to special Shabbos Project events, discussions, and most importantly, the Shabbos itself that they will share with those in their community.

We have lost so much, and have had a year of sadness and pain. But all of it has only brought the Jewish world closer together. And with the Shabbos Project and Absa Jewish Achiever Awards, we recognise just what we have.

May it be a special Shabbos Project Shabbat, and we salute all the Absa Jewish Achievers!

Shabbat Shalom!

Peta Krost

Editor