Report: Anti-Semitic attacks rise significantly in Netherlands

In some instances, police preferred not to get involved in incidences involving Jewish community.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Protesters attend a rally against anti-Semitism in Frankfurt August 31, 2014. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Protesters attend a rally against anti-Semitism in Frankfurt August 31, 2014.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
An anti-Semitism watchdog group in the Netherlands said that  incidents involving acts against the Jewish community rose 71 percent last year, adding that some police officers were unwilling to intervene in such matters.
The Hague-based Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, or CIDI, recorded 171 incidents in 2014 compared to 100 in 2013, CIDI wrote in a statement sent to the media on Wednesday about the group’s annual report on anti-Semitism.
The report noted a "worrisome phenomenon" amongst police officer's behavior towards the Jewish community, with some preferring to "look the other way" in such cases.
“The filing of a complaint was sometimes discouraged in contrast with the policy that indeed seeks to enhance reporting,” according to the report.
Most targeted in the Netherlands were individuals who wore kippas or other Jewish symbols out in public and accounted for most of the attacks that took place on the streets.
In addition, more than half of all incidences recorded in connection with harassment towards the Jewish community occurred during Israel's war with Hamas last summer.
“The serious increase of the number of anti-Semitic incidents in 2014 worsened the feeling of insecurity within the Jewish community, especially in view of the May 2014 attack on the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels and the threat of returning jihadists,” CIDI wrote.