Worry about Increasing Antisemitism

During a meeting in Amsterdam on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, several speakers stressed the increase of antisemitism.  Prime Minister Rutte said that contemporary antisemitism still frightens people.  He mentioned the recently attacked kosher restaurant whose windows were deliberately shattered.  Rutte said that antisemitism is reflected by the fact that the doors of the restaurant are now locked and that the owner has to push a button to allow people entry.

https://nos.nl/artikel/2214167-holocaustherdenking-jodenhaat-neemt-toe.html

Amsterdam Quay Walls Need Billions in Repair

Amsterdam has 500 million kilometers of Quay walls.  Two hundred kilometers of these need urgent repair.  Five billion euro is needed but the city does not have the money.  In addition there are very few companies that have the know-how to carry out the repairs.  The city is currently able to repair one kilometer every year.

www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1585245/amsterdamse-kades-dreigen-in-te-storten

Man Destroys Cameras of Jewish Hospice and Jewish Center

On the night of January 1, a man threw a stone at the security cameras of the Jewish hospice.  He then also destroyed a camera at the Jewish Cultural Center. The police say that they have no idea what the motive of the man was and hopes to find him via recorded images.

https://www.niw.nl/cameras-joods-hospice-kapot-geslagen/

Eindhoven University Suspends Subsidy to Student Organization

The Eindhoven University of Technology has suspended its subsidy to the Eindhoven Studenten Corps because its fraternity, Aleph, was involved in an inappropriate carnival party. The theme of the party was “The opinion of a woman doesn’t count.”  This was a reference to the Me-too movement.  The event has been removed from Facebook and has been cancelled.

https://nltimes.nl/2018/01/24/eindhoven-student-assocs-subsidy-suspended-s

Roma Children Trafficked in Netherlands as Sex Slaves

Netherlands aid workers and experts say that hundreds of Roma children are being used as sex slaves and pickpockets by criminal family members.  The experts say that the Dutch authorities do not provide adequate protection for these Roma children. If a child is arrested, he or she is often returned to a family member that exploits the child again.

https://nltimes.nl/2018/01/22/hundreds-roma-children-trafficked-netherlans-sex-slaves-pickpockets

Stabbing at Wageningen University Campus

In a quarrel at Wageningen University, two students were injured. One was stabbed in the eye and taken to a hospital in Ede. The other victim was beaten and treated at the scene by paramedics.

https://nltimes.nl/2018/01/18/multiple-people-stabbed-wageningen-univ-campus-student-arrested

Dutch Howitzers Used in Yemen War

Dutch howitzers were observed in a 2015 Al Jazeera TV report about the war in Yemen.  The howitzers were used by the coalition, and led by Saudia Arabia in the bloody war in Yemen where human rights are abused regularly, according to the UN and other human rights organizations.  The Dutch research collective, “Dutch Arms,” has discovered that these howitzers were supplied by the Netherlands.

https://www.vpro.nl/speel~RBX_VPRO_12511963~nederlandse-wapens-in-jemen~.html