Reports of Antisemitism on the rise last year

The Israel Information and Documentation Center (CIDI) registered a total of 183 anti-Jewish incidents last year, which is more than the 135 incidents in 2020 and roughly the same as the 182 in 2019. “Worryingly, a number of incidents are taking place in schools throughout the country, from Alkmaar to Dordrecht and from the Randstad to Limburg," says CIDI director Hanna Luden.

According to CIDI, incidents at schools almost always involve bullying by fellow students towards children of Jewish descent. Luden describes "heartbreaking stories of children wondering why they are so hated.” The school management would sometimes take no action.

The figures show that there is a "trend increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents,” the director said. There were fewer incidents in the “Covid-19 year” 2020, but according to the CIDI, this was partly due to the lockdowns and therefore the limitation of the number of physical encounters.

The spikes in anti-Semitic incidents in 2021 were mainly due to rising tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, according to the CIDI. "Dutch Jews are held accountable for actions by the Israeli government. This has a strong influence on feelings of insecurity among Jewish Dutch people and leads to a reluctance to reveal their identity in public, at work and elsewhere."

The CIDI argues in favor of including the history of anti-Semitism in the educational curriculum, alongside education about the Second World War and the Holocaust. "In addition, the police should be given more resources and power to detect and prosecute cases of discrimination and Ministers should be educated on the subject."

Online anti-Semitism is not included in the CIDI monitor, because the amount of online data is "enormous" and requires a different approach. A CIDI study on this will be published shortly, conducted by Utrecht University.