In 2009, the number of antisemite incidents in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, doubled compared to the year before. In 2008, 14 antisemitic incidents were reported in the Dutch capital, making for relatively calm year in the city that is home to most of the country’s approximately 40,000 Jews. New – as yet unpublished – data collected by a semi-governmental agency that reports on discrimination, have shown that the number of reported incidents grew to 30 in 2009. Jews in Amsterdam feel more and more under siege as they are exposed to a growing barrage of name-calling, hate mail, firecrackers in their mailboxes, graffiti and, occasionally, physical abuse. They feel the government should do more about it, by coming down harder on perpetrators, for one, but also by investing more in their security financially.
