Amsterdam Mayor concerned about increased anti-Semitism and Muslim hatred in the capital

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, there has been an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the Dutch capital and growing hatred towards Muslims, the Mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, stated. In the TV program Nieuwsuur, Halsema spoke of increasing polarization. In general, the "powerlessness and sadness is very great," she said, NOS reported.

According to the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI), there were 106 anti-Semitic incidents in Amsterdam in October alone. Last year in the same month, the CIDI recorded between 10 and 14 cases, a tenfold increase in anti-Semitic incidents.

This is a worrying development, Halsema said. She is aware that there were also anti-Semitic incidents in Amsterdam before the war in Gaza and that this has increased since the Hamas attack. The mayor feels responsible for her Jewish fellow citizens, especially because most Jewish Dutch people live in Amsterdam. She is therefore even more concerned that the majority of Jews in Amsterdam feel intimidated and unsafe, whether at school, at university, or when they leave their homes.

Hatred of Muslims has also reached an all-time high in the capital since then, according to Halsema. "I also see the enormous powerlessness of people who feel that what is being done to the Palestinians is inhumane. Muslims are insulted as Hamas supporters. Children are harassed at school," NOS reported.

Concerns about polarization in the capital prompted Halsema to sit down with the Amsterdam Council and send a letter to outgoing Prime Minister Rutte and the Tweede Kamer last Monday calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. This should lead to Amsterdam residents being united instead of afraid, according to the mayor.