Antisemitism is growing in the Netherlands and the pile of antisemitic incidents continues to rise, according to the Office of the Public Prosecutor (OM). This is because the number of cases related to antisemitic behavior are higher in 2022 than in previous years, Trouw reported.
Each year, the prosecutor’s office records the discrimination cases processed, including the number of cases involving antisemitism. However, this revealed a worrying trend: in 2022, a total of 144 discrimination cases were processed. Although, in contrast to 2021, the number of discrimination cases decreased by 13, the number of antisemitic cases among them increased. Reports range from discrimination in the workplace to an antisemitic mural, as happened in Rotterdam in 2021.
While in 2018 the OM had to deal with 20 cases involving antisemitic incidents, in 2022 it almost tripled to 61 cases. For the national coordinator for antisemitism, Eddo Verdoner, it is just the tip of the iceberg, he said.
In the last five years, the Public Prosecution Office handled a total of 237 cases of antisemitism. The number of unreported cases could also be higher, since reports or notifications regarding antisemitic incidents for which the police do not have sufficient evidence do not end up at the OM, the newspaper wrote.
Moreover, it is not possible to accurately record how many of the 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.”
According to Verdoner, the increase in antisemitic statements is particularly noticeable on the Internet. In 2020 alone, more than 200,000 Dutch antisemitic messages circulated online, research by Utrecht University showed. The Internet presents a challenge, Verdoner told Trouw. “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.
