Big rise in anti-Semitism last year; Teach kids about consequences, Justice Min. says

The Center for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI) registered almost 2.5 times more incidents of hatred of Jews in the Netherlands last year than in the year before. Especially after the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, which triggered the war in Gaza, the number increased “explosively.” Young people must learn more at school and at home about the persecution of the Jews in the Second World War, Justice Minister and VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz said in response.

CIDI recorded 379 incidents in 2023, compared to 155 the year before. The Anti-Semitic Incidents Monitor reports approximately 203 incidents in the last three months - 105 in October, 76 in November, and 50 in December. The organization added that the number of incidents before October was almost as high as the whole of 2022. CIDI spoke of a “historic low” in the over 40 years that it has been reporting on anti-Semitism. It fears that this year’s figures will be even higher.

Over half of the incidents concerned written statements that Jews received, for example, by email or post. Jews also received more hate via WhatsApp, including texts like “drop dead cancer Jew,” “they forgot to gas you,” or conspiracy theories. Eighteen percent of the incidents were direct confrontations between the victim and perpetrator. Nine percent were vandalism, such as Jewish buildings getting defaced. The rest happened in the Jews’ immediate environment or in the social domain, like in sports, politics, or the media.

Anti-Semitism increased alarmingly, especially in schools, CIDI wrote. The number of incidents, including insults, threats, and violence by fellow students, increased from eight in 2022 to 40 last year. “Some Jewish students felt so unsafe that they stayed at home for a long time or even transferred to another school.”

CIDI did not count all expressions of anti-Semitism on social media in the monitor because that is “too extensive to keep track of.” It did include private messages.

In total, CIDI received approximately 1,550 reports last year. About a quarter of them made it into the monitor. The rest “did not or only partially meet the definition of anti-Semitism, only contained criticism of Israel, or it could not be conclusively established that an anti-Semitic motive was behind the incident.”

CIDI advocated for more attention to anti-Semitism in education, better registration of hate crimes, and forcing social media companies to take action against anti-Semitism. The organization also wants a zero-tolerance policy for criminal prosecution.

Minister’s response

Justice Minister and VVD leader Yeşilgöz agrees that young people must learn more about what consequences anti-Semitism can have, she said in the television program Op1 in response to the CIDI report. According to Yeşilgöz, schools are already obliged to teach children about the Holocaust. “What we hear a lot is that teachers find it very difficult,” said the Minister. Support from the school and the school board is then “very important.” The education inspectorate must also work on this, she said.

At the same time, it must not only be up to schools to ensure that children learn about the persecution of the Jews in the Second World War and the other consequences of hatred of Jews. “It has to start at home.”

Anti-Semitism is punishable, and perpetrators are caught and convicted, Yeşilgöz assured. But she also hears in the Jewish community that the willingness to report crimes is decreasing because people feel that nothing is done about it. She will discuss with the police and judiciary how things can be improved, she said.