Jewish schools in Amsterdam closed today after Hamas protest call

Jewish schools in Amsterdam will not open on Friday. The school organization Stichting Joodse Kindergemeenschap Cheider confirmed this after reporting from Het Parool and AT5. The three Amsterdam-based Jewish schools, Rosh Pina, Maimonides, and Cheider, “assume” that they will “open as normal” again on Monday, the Central Jewish Consultation (CJO) reported.

The decision to keep the schools closed on Friday was made in consultation with the CJO due to the call by the militant Palestinian movement Hamas for Muslims to demonstrate on Friday in support of the Palestinians in the occupied territories and the Gaza Strip.

The call has caused “great unrest among children, parents and teachers,” the CJO said. “Intensive consultation occurred between the schools, the municipality, and the relevant government institutions. Although our concerns were shared, obtaining clarity in a timely manner about scaling up security was impossible. There was, therefore, no other choice but to make this regrettable decision,” explained CJO chairman Chanan Hertzberger.

Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema said through her spokesperson that she is in close contact with the Jewish community and with the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security. They have been extra alert since the start of the war in Israel. Hamas launched a major attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip about a week ago. Israel’s army is carrying out retaliatory actions. Thousands of people have been killed on both sides.

“Where necessary, we take extra security measures, visible and invisible. That also applies to Jewish institutions throughout the country. Friday is also a day of being extra alert,” Halsema’s spokesperson said. “That does not alter the fact that there are great feelings of unrest and fear in the Jewish community. We are very aware of that.”

The National Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism, Eddo Verdoner, called the Hamas movement’s call for protest on Friday “intimidating.” According to him, it reinforces the fear of anti-Semitism that has been living in the Jewish community in the Netherlands since the attack on Israel last Saturday. “Expressions of hatred of Jews are echoed on Forums, in chat groups, and in the classroom,” said Verdoner. “But also in a program like Today Inside, in which it is said that Jews brought it on themselves. Such a call fuels anti-Semitism even more.”

Jewish people also fear protests after the Hamas call. “I have heard that several parents doubt whether they will take their child to the Jewish school [today],” Verdoner said. He also heard that some are unsure about going to the synagogue on Friday. “They are afraid that protests will get out of hand or an attack will be committed. In that sense, the call has already achieved its goal: to sow fear.”

The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, CIDI, also said that the call for protests caused “absolute fear” of incidents within the Dutch Jewish community. “We know from the past that every time there was a conflict in Gaza, this had an impact on the Jewish community in the Netherlands,” said director Naomi Mestrum. CIDI has received “quite a lot” of incident reports in recent days. “It mainly concerns children who are afraid. We have had calls from parents whose Israeli or Jewish children no longer dare to go to school. For example, a girl in the class was told that it was a good thing that Hamas was finishing Hitler’s work.”