Anti-semitism on the rise; incidents up 71 pct, group claims

The number of anti-Semitic incidents increased with 71 percent in the Netherlands last year. The severity of the incidents also increased. This is according to figures released by the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) yesterday, RTL reports. There were 171 recorded incidents last year, compared to 100 in 2013. The number of direct confrontations on the street increased by 90 percent, from 21 incidents in 2013 to 40 incidents last year. The number of physical violence increased from 3 to 6. About half of the incidents occurred during the Gaza war in the summer. According to CIDI, this is not surprising as Antisemitism increasing during major military actions of Israel is a known phenomenon. CIDI is also concerned about the fact that 15 of the incidents happened in schools. One Jewish boy was stabbed with a protractor, leaving him with a stomach wound of more than 20 centimeters. There were also several cases of victims having to change schools or classes. Minister Lodewijk Asscher of Social Affairs called the increase in anti-Semitic actions very bad news. "Antisemitism is unacceptable, but unfortunately we see that Jew-hatred still rears its head every day. Antisemitism has never been gone from Europe, these numbers show that we must continue to fight against it." He also stated that the high number of incidents during the Gaza war shows how important it is to prevent conflicts in the Middle East spreading into our society.