Antisemitic incidents are on the rise in the Netherlands

According to a Dutch daily newspaper article, antisemitic incidents are on the rise in the Netherlands.

According to the Public Prosecutor (OM), antisemitism is growing in the Netherlands and reported antisemitic incidents continue to rise reports the NL Times. This is because the number of cases related to antisemitic behaviour are higher in 2022 than in previous years, the newspaper cites the original report of the Dutch daily newspaper ‚Trouw ‘.

Each year, the prosecutor’s office records the discrimination cases processed, including the number of cases involving antisemitism. After analysing the data from 2022, an alarming trend unfolded: a total of 144 discrimination cases were processed. While in contrast to 2021, the number of discrimination cases decreased by 13, the number of antisemitic cases among them increased. While in 2018, the OM had to deal with 20 cases involving antisemitic incidents, in 2022 it almost tripled to 61 cases.

In the last five years, the Public Prosecution Office handled a total of 237 cases of antisemitism, which doesn’t include reports or notifications regarding antisemitic incidents for which the police do not have sufficient evidence since these do not end up at the OM. A number of cases also go entirely unreported.

Moreover, it is impossible to accurately record how many suspects linked to antisemitic incidents are also convicted. According to the Judicial Council, 23 people have been convicted of group insults against Jews in the last five years. Therefore, the number of unreported cases may be much higher, as the cases may also have been registered as „discrimination based on religious beliefs, „writes the NL Times.

According to Eddo Verdoner, the national coordinator for antisemitism, the increase in antisemitic statements is particularly noticeable on the Internet, which presents a challenge. „We need to look at how we can improve enforcement to deal with this large volume.”

Even though, during the pandemic, the number of antisemitic cases decreased, the OM’s figures show that there is, however, an upward trend regarding antisemitism in the Netherlands.