According to the annual report of the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI), 171 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in Holland last year.
CIDI found, European Jewish Press reported, that people who are recognizable as being Jewish, such as those wearing a kippah or Jewish symbol, were especially targeted by anti-Semitic abuse and harassment on the streets.
The number of incidents of physical violence doubled, from 3 in 2013 to 6 in 2014. About 30,000 Jews live in Holland.
Of Holland's population of approximately 15.6 million, Muslims are half a million – 3.2% - up ten-fold from 1971.
CIDI had previously reported a 22% jump in anti-Semitic incidents in Holland between 2012 and 2013.
Approximately half of the anti-Semitic incidents took place during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in Gaza war last summer. Israel initiated that offensive both in response to thousands of missile attacks against Israel from Gaza, and to ward of the threat of thousands more. Despite the defensive nature of Protective Edge, some 10,000 Dutch – mostly Muslims - demonstrated at the time in Rotterdam, with marchers waving posters reading "No Dutch support for Palestinian genocide" and the like.
The CIDI report also mentioned the failure of police to interfere in anti-Semitic incidents. In addition, there were 15 incidents of anti-Semitic nature in and around Dutch schools in 2014.
In a meeting with European rabbis last week, Pope Francis expressed concern about growing anti-Semitism in Europe. He said that Jews and Christians together have the responsibility of preserving a sense of the sacred and reminding people that our lives are a gift from G-d.
The rabbis' group represents more than 700 rabbis from synagogues across Europe, and the delegation was headed by the Chief Rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the Conference of European Rabbis.
A new campaign has been recently launched by the Brussels-based European Jewish Association (EJA) in Europe to don a kippah or other Jewish symbol to fight anti-Semitism. EJA's Director-General Rabbi Menachem Margolin called on non-Jewish Europeans to film themselves walking down the street while wearing the symbols, to show their opposition to rising anti-Semitism.