Anti-Jewish prejudice exists among the Dutch people on all levels. This was brought home in a dramatic way last Saturday during a 90-minute radio program devoted to the problem of anti-Semitism extant in Holland. The program afforded listeners a chance to phone in their reactions, and the results were striking.
Several Jewish mothers of young children reported that pupils in kindergarten and elementary schools had made anti-Semitic remarks such as calling their children “dirty Jew.” The mothers noted that such epithets could only indicate that the parents of these pupils must use them at home. In addition, the mothers noted that even in secondary schools very little attention is given to the destruction of six million European Jews, including 100,000 Dutch Jews who were killed by the Nazis.
Rabbi Avraham Soetendorp also told the radio audience that there was what he termed a not inconsiderable degree of anti-Semitism in Holland. He and his late father, Jacob Soetendorp, both Liberal rabbis, were active for many years in promoting greater Jewish-Christian understanding.
The anti-Jewish prejudice is viewed as all the more striking since there are only some 22,000 Jews of a total population of 13.5 million and many of the Jews are assimilated. It is also striking because, in contrast to the pre-war situation, the number of other minority groups such as Turks, Moroccans and Surinamese is about 20 times larger than that of the Jews.
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.
