Amsterdam Jewish school closes again amid security threats, rising anti-Semitism

The Cheider Jewish school in Amsterdam-Zuid will close its doors to students for the second time since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas. The school board said on Monday that it can no longer guarantee the safety of their students. The students were told on Sunday that they could not go to the school building in the Buitenveldert neighborhood on Monday, and they will start online lessons from Tuesday.

The school has determined "that the security measures are currently insufficient for the threat that exists," said Chanan Hertzberger, the chair of the Central Jewish Consultation (CJO). Hertzberger did not reference any "specific new threats," but instead spoke of "a general feeling of insecurity."

Hertzberger said, "Cheider is aware of the dire impact the school closure has on students and parents," but that the safety risk outweighs the impact in this case. He refered to the "massive [amount of] anti-Semitic comments on social media that have led to a higher threat level" since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas. The issue was brought up during the election debate on Sunday night, and synagogues have also reported a rise in threats in recent weeks.

In response to the closure, a spokesperson for Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said he was "aware that there are great feelings of unrest and fear in the Jewish community." She would not elaborate on why the school has decided to close its doors.

Earlier this month, three Amsterdam Jewish schools briefly closed their doors over security concerns and unrest within the school communities. Security was increased so that students could return to school once the CJO and the municipality of Amsterdam came to an agreement during a meeting about the issue.

Cheider is currently the only one of the three Jewish schools in Amsterdam that has again closed its doors. Rosh Pina and Maimonides will remain open for the time being. "According to one school, the government has come up with sufficient safety measures, but another school estimates this differently," the CJO chair said in explaining the schools' separate plans.

There were still consultations between the municipality and the Cheider board this weekend, according to Halsema's spokesperson. The municipality also took visible safety measures in regards to this, as well as measures not visible to the public. The municipality is "in constant contact with Cheider," she added.

The CJO also said it was in discussions with the municipality to reach an arrangement to reopen the school as soon as possible.

The Jewish schools do not have an autumn holiday this week, like the rest of the northern school region. The Jewish schools already took a week off earlier in October for the Sukkot holiday.