American Jewry was greeted today by Prime Minister Willem Drees of the Netherlands, on the occasion of the Tercentenary celebration of Jewish settlement in this country, which will start next month. In a statement released through the Netherlands Information Service, Dr. Drees said:
“The 300th anniversary of this community recalls historical associations of which both peoples may be justly proud. The first groups of Jews to arrive in Nieuw Amsterdam, though they came from Brazil, were of Dutch origin. They sought and found an atmosphere of religious tolerance in the Dutch community of Nieuw Amsterdam.
“Both the American and the Dutch people have continued in their history to strive for–and where necessary to fight for–freedom in matters of religion, not less than in other spheres of human activity. Less than 15 years ago the Dutch people were horrified and incensed at the persecution that befell the Jewish community of the Netherlands under the German occupation. The history of those days tells of the solidarity of the people with their suffering Jewish brethren.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
