Jewish communities to get more security: Justice dept.

The Cabinet is discussing a "structural security plan" in response to heightened security threats for the Jewish community, after the attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels in May. Minister Ivo Opstelten of Security and Justice told Parliament on Thursday that institutions will be protected. Mayors are getting together with the Jewish community to get an impression of the necessary steps to take to ensure peoples' safety. Minister Opstelten said that the parties are considering the feasibility and costs of any new arrangements, and where these costs will come to lie. Opstelten calls this a "breakthrough" in what has been demanded since Saturday the 24th of May, when a heavily armed man walked into the Jewish Museum in Brussels, and shot dead an Israeli couple, and a French staff member of the institution. One other victim died later. The culprit is suspected of being an ex-Syria fighter. He has since been arrested in France. Opstelten is predicting that this incident may give rise to more attacks, and says there is a "new situation" for the Jewish community. Authorities took immediate action to establish counter-measures to protect institutions in The Netherlands. Various parties in Parliament insisted that Jewish institutions such as schools should not have to bear the costs for extra security. Opstelten has said that he is trying to achieve this, and will also give yearly reports, through the Cabinet, about the fight against anti-Semitism. The first report on this issue will be published in December. In line with this, Dutch football clubs will be sued for use of the words 'Jew' or 'Jews' in their chants. European Intelligence Services have to ensure a more efficient exchange of information within the EU about returned Syria fighters, Opstelten added. He has arranged a plan of action to ensure this measure with his EU colleagues. According to Ronald van Raak (SP), Minister Opstelten is not being truthful when he says that cooperation on this front is going smoothly. He believes a "cultural shift" is needed to bring order to this cooperation.