Dutch Fishing Town Urk Welcomes Jews After Antisemitic Attacks
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
URK (Worthy News) – A prominent Jewish leader has praised a decision by the Dutch fishing town of Urk to welcome Jews who are fearful of rising antisemitism in the country.
“The entire municipal council of Urk has expressed its heart-warming support for Israel and the Jewish community in a motion,” noted Ronny Naftaniel, the vice chairman of the European Jewish Center of Information (ECJI).
In the motion, seen by Worthy News, all parties stated “that members of the Jewish community and Jewish institutions are welcome at all times to settle in Urk,” some 53 miles (85 kilometers) east of Amsterdam.
Naftaniel, whose father was a German Jew who survived the Holocaust in the Netherlands, has expressed concern about growing hatred towards Jews.
He recently canceled his membership in the Dutch Labour Party, or PvdA, after the party and its partner GreenLeft (GL) condemned Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam.
“While it was logical to invite a representative of Israel to the opening of the Holocaust Museum before the Gaza war began, the government should have realized that President Herzog’s presence is undesirable under the current circumstances,” said legislator Kati Piri on behalf of the two parties.
Naftaniel, 75, has also expressed concerns about revelations that the Dutch secret services have for years spied on selected Jewish people. And he also is worried about Jewish people being targeted, including at Dutch universities, as Israel fights against Hamas in Gaza.
STUDENTS ATTACKED
In one of the most recent incidents, a young Jewish man carrying an Israeli flag was surrounded and chased by pro-Palestinian activists at the Erasmus University in the port city of Rotterdam.
A hysterically laughing woman filmed the scene, which also included a man using a water pistol at the Jewish student while others threatened to attack him, Worthy News observed.
In moments resembling the Nazi era of the 1930s and 1940s, the fearful young man wearing a traditional kippah cap appeared to run for his life with activists wearing pro-Palestinian scarves and others chasing him.
Pressured by public outrage, the Erasmus University Executive Board said it “emphatically stands against this action” at campus Woudestein, where pro-Palestine protesters are staying in 17 tents.
“Everyone is allowed to express their opinion, so presenting the Israeli flag should be as possible as the Palestinian flag. Such incidents will also be reported.”
If it’s up to Urk, the Jewish man and others like him can hide on this former island of 21,000 people, which has more churches than most other European municipalities.
Urk residents have also raised Israeli flags following the October 7 Hamas massacre of some 1,200 people in Israel.
After suspected pro-Palestinian activists removed and destroyed some banners, even more, residents joined in hoisting Israeli flags at their homes.
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