The mezuzah at the entrance to A.'s house, active in a pro-Israel organization, was torn from its place • "I do not intend to hide, I will continue to fight until the situation improves," he told "Israel Today" • A complaint was filed with the local police, but no suspect has yet been caught.
"Assault aimed at the entire community"
Antisemitic vandalism in the Netherlands:
A swastika and a mezuzah torn from its place in the door frame of the house - these were the horrific spectacles revealed to A., a Jewish student, when he arrived at his home in Maastricht (the capital of the Limburg district in the south) last Thursday.
A. was exposed to the shocking spectacle: the sacred utensil was thrown to the floor.
The parchment sheet (on which the "Shema Yisrael" and "And if he heard" passages are written in plain letters) was separated from the mezuzah case standard that was intended to protect it.
The student, an activist in the local branch of the pro-Israel Stand With Us organization, filed a complaint with the police with the aim of investigating the antisemitic attack.
As of the date of publication of the article, no suspect in the act has been apprehended.
"I perceive this event precisely as an opportunity for me to raise awareness against the antisemitic sentiment in the city," A. explained in a conversation with "Israel Today."
"One person is enough to ignite this hatred. I fight racism and anti-Semitism with all my might, on a daily basis - and there is no way I will stop fighting. On the contrary, the incident only gave me motivation to keep fighting."
He added: "Unfortunately, we do not have cameras in the building. I am not very optimistic about finding the culprit, but let there be no doubt: I do not intend to hide, and although my friends here are worried I am not afraid of the situation. We will continue to fight until the situation improves."
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the Association of Jewish Organizations in Europe (EJA), told Israel Today: "We condemn the shocking antisemitic attack suffered by our activist in the city of Maastricht in the Netherlands.
"We have long warned of the sharp rise in anti-Semitism in Europe, and reiterate our demands from European governments to establish national anti-Semitic authorities that will work to increase security around Jewish institutions and individuals, alongside educating the next generation."
"We invite the entire European public and the Jews of the continent in particular to report any attack or antisemitic activity to the EJA WhatsApp hotline, which is available 24 hours a day at the following number: 484999111- 32+."
An all-time record for antisemitic incidents
Elad Singer, director of the organization's branch in the Netherlands, added.
"The desecration of someone's sacred objects is not forgiven, but unfortunately it is something that Jews have had to deal with throughout history, and apparently Jews in the Netherlands still have to deal with it. The student is what we call 'manch'. He is an enthusiastic activist for Israel and the Jewish people. In Maastricht, this incident cannot be seen as an attack directed against a person - but against the entire community. "
The number of antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands reached an all-time high in 2019. According to the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, CIDI, in 2019 182 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the country, an unprecedented number in the last 30 years in which the information center documents the issue.
This is an increase of 35% from 2018.
For example, in 2018 there were 18 antisemitic incidents called "abusive abuse", compared to 44 in 2019.
The city of Maastricht has ancient Jewish roots and a Jewish community existed there as early as the end of the 13th century.
Eventually, the vast majority of the hundreds of Jews who lived in the city during World War II were sent to extermination camps.
Several attempts at community rehabilitation — the last of which in 1986 — failed.
Today, there are officially between 80 and 200 Jews in the city.
