King opens Holocaust Museum, Herzog gives speech and calls for release of Jewish hostages

King Willem-Alexander arrived at the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam for the opening of the National Holocaust Museum. The King was welcomed by Mayor Femke Halsema of Amsterdam and Arthur van Dijk, the King's Commissioner in Noord-Holland.

Before entering the synagogue, the King was received in the Regency Room by Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Israeli President Isaac Herzog also took part in the so-called Ma'amad. The King gave a speech during the opening ceremony. Later, he will embark on a guided tour of the museum.

Emile Schrijver, general director of the National Holocaust Museum, was the first speaker. In his speech, Schrijver mentioned the Hamas attack on October 7, "the war that followed" and expressed concern about the "increasing anti-Semitism". The Holocaust Museum, Schrijver said, supports the importance of respect and selfless choices.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called for the release of Jewish hostages held in Gaza in his speech at the opening of the Holocaust museum. He thinks the Holocaust museum is a reminder of "the horrors that arise from anti-Semitism". “Hate and anti-Semitism are currently flourishing worldwide,” he said.

Herzog went on to say in his speech that "too many Dutch people" helped the Nazis, but he also spoke of Dutch people who protected persecuted Jews.

Furthermore, German Federal Council President Manuela Schwesig emphasized in her speech how important it is not to let the history of the Holocaust be forgotten. “We must keep the memory of the Holocaust alive together,” she said, also on behalf of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, at the opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam.

"Just a stone's throw from here is the theater from which Jews from the Netherlands were deported to concentration camps and to their deaths," said Schwesig, "Germans were responsible for this. Today, it is our responsibility to keep the memory alive and to do everything we can to ensure that this never happens again."

In her speech, Schwesig also called for the fight against hatred and racism to continue "everywhere in Europe". "There is no place for anti-Semitism in our society," she emphasized.

Several hundred people were gathered in the Portuguese Synagogue for the opening of the National Holocaust Museum. These included outgoing Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yeşilgöz, former politician Lodewijk Asscher, NS CEO Wouter Koolmees and his predecessor Roger van Boxtel.

Demonstration against Israeli President Herzog outside the Portuguese Synagogue

During the opening of the National Holocaust Museum in the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, demonstrators and what they were shouting could "sometimes" be heard from outside, an ANP reported. The protesters are against the presence of Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the opening of the museum. Among other things, they play music.

About a thousand people demonstrate on Waterlooplein against Herzog's presence. The demonstrators want to make as much noise as possible at 1 p.m. Around that time, Herzog comes out again after the opening of the National Holocaust Museum.

The Mobile Unit has positioned itself on the road between the Portuguese Synagogue and Waterlooplein to prevent demonstrators from moving from Waterlooplein towards the synagogue. The demonstrators have now walked so far that they are almost against the police vans blocking the passage.