Netherlands / 09-08-2012
Antisemitism at the Anne Frank House
Amsterdam - Tram driver announces as he passes the Anne Frank House that this is where the Jews make their money!” That is what Stefan de Bruijn, active in the local Conservative Party, twittered from his tram in Amsterdam.
Ron Eisenmann, Chairman of the Orthodox Jewish Community in the Netherlands, heard the story from a member of his congregation. The driver asked “What are all these people doing here, she has been dead for ages!” The conductor responded “They have to make their money somehow.” This eye witness didn’t think the conversation was supposed to be on the loudspeaker.
Stefan de Bruijn is planning to bring it up at the City Council. “Let’s hope the public transport company will reproach the driver for his poor conduct /tactless behaviour / anti-Semitism” he twittered. He also criticizes a line 8 that drove through town during the memorial ceremony on May 4. Line 8 no longer exists, it was the tram that took Jews to the Hollandsche Schouwburg, the spot they were deported from in 1942 and 1943.
“We are looking for the driver,” the transport company reported. “We want to talk to him about what he said.” The company is also planning to look into the rumors about the tram 8 on May 4.
