NL sees highest number of Anti-Semitism reports in 30 years

The number of anti-Semitic incidents reported to the Netherlands' information and documentation center on Israel CIDI last year increased by a massive 35 percent compared to the year before. CIDI received 182 reports of discrimination against Jewish people - the highest number since the center started keeping track 30 years ago, NOS reports.

In 2014, CIDI saw a peak in anti-Semitism reports at 171 incidents. "At the time, the anti-Semitism was related to the flare-up of te conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. There is no such link in 2019," the center said. The number of incidents decreased to 126 in 2015 and 109 in 2016, after which they started to increase again.

Last year there were particularly more reports of insults, increasing from 18 in 2018 to 44 in 2019. CIDI did not include anti-Semitic expressions on social media, though the center is concerned about it. "Social media companies are still taking too little action against anti-Semitic and other racist expressions on their platforms."

CIDI fears that its figures are just the tip of the iceberg. "What makes the increase all the more poignant is that victims of anti-Semitism rarely make a report to the police, because the fear that a report will lead to nothing. 

The police also noted an increase in discrimination reports. Last year 460 incidents of discrimination were reported to the police, 16 percent more than in 2018.