Reports from 15 countries.
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The Netherlands [197]

There are three main religious directions within Dutch Jewry (total: 30,000, the majority living in Amsterdam): the traditional Jewish community (Nederlands Israelitisch Kerkgenootschap), the liberal religious Jews (Liberaal Religieuze Joden) and the Sephardic community (Portugees Israelitisch Kerkgenootschap). The majority are well integrated in the social and cultural life of Dutch society (total population: 16 million). In recent years the establishment of Islamic institutions serving the 700,000-800,000 Muslims resident in the Netherlands (Moroccans, Turks and people from former Dutch colonies) has increased and the founding of over 30 Islamic schools demonstrates the increased influence of Islam. At the same time, racist attacks against the Muslim population have risen, in particular after 11 September 2001. Public statements by Imams against homosexuality, women, the Western world etc. have meet with displeasure in large sections of the population. Many of the radical Muslim religious leaders publicly express their disdain of the USA or even praise the Palestinian suicide bombers. A recent intelligence service report suggesting that young Muslims were being recruited at mosques for anti-Western missions in Afghanistan and elsewhere also stirred up public feeling. [198]

The Dutch Jewish community remains one of the targets of both extreme right-wing and Islamic fundamentalist movements. Although no comprehensive system for recording anti-Semitic incidents is in place, anti-Semitic activity appears to have been increasing slowly but steadily in recent years. Incidents such as acts of vandalism, abusive graffiti, desecration of Jewish cemeteries and memorial sites, but also insults and threats continue to happen. Football vandalism and Internet propaganda are among the main focal points of anti-Semitic activities in the Netherlands. [199] There was also a clear link between the incidents and the restitution of Jewish assets [200] as well as with the events in the Israel-Palestine conflict. In the aftermath of the 11 September attacks on the United States 90 incidents directed against Muslims were also registered. [201]  

In the run up to parliamentary elections in May 2002 it was mainly the party of Pim Fortuyn (LPF) which attempted to recruit votes with xenophobic slogans, whereby in particular new immigration was addressed. Shortly before the election Pim Fortuyn was murdered; nonetheless his party list became the second strongest group in parliament and joined the government coalition led by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

The Dutch government has banned kosher slaughter, becoming the sixth European country to do so. The local Agriculture Ministry informed Jewish community leaders that they would no longer be permitted to slaughter cows in a kosher manner [shechitah] because of “cruelty” to animals. [202] At the same time though, the Netherlands has implemented the most restrained regulations of all the European countries, which have passed the prohibition. The ban is only applicable for older, heavier bulls – not cows or other animals. In July 2002 an arrangement was reached in meetings with members of the Dutch Jewish Committee that took into consideration the “needs of the Jewish community in Holland”. [203]

The University of Leiden together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Anne Frank Foundation annually investigates the extent of extreme-right and racist violence against minorities. The report for the year 2000 shows an increase of registered incidents from 313 (1998) to 406 (2000), directed increasingly against asylum seekers and Jewish persons. Many incidents were not reported however. [204] For the first four months of 2002 a renewed increase in the number of attacks is evident. Another study shows that the perpetrators of anti-Semitic attacks to a large extent – but not exclusively – come from sections of the younger second generation Moroccan population, whose level of social integration is poor and who are influenced by Arab radio and television stations which broadcast programmes in the Netherlands and agitate against Jews, homosexuals and Western influences. [205]

Although in contrast to other countries no synagogue has been set on fire in the Netherlands, since autumn 2000 and above all in the course of 2001 the number of anti-Semitic incidents increased; cemeteries, monuments, synagogues and buildings housing Jewish organisations were the target of vandals on 50 occasions. [206] In 2001 there were 31 incidents; in the first four months of 2002 the number of attacks, ranging from physical assault to attacks per e-mail, rose to over 100. [207] The unregistered number of cases is possibly far greater though, for the numbers published only include those incidents cited by the victims themselves and passed on by NGOs. [208]

1. Physical acts of violence

In March numerous reports of death threats towards Jews sent by letter, fax and mobile phone were reported. [209] For the months January to April 2002 six cases of physical violence and nine cases of threats of violence were registered. In particular more and more Jews who wear the kipah were disparaged on the streets. An American Jew was followed by a group of persons and badly beaten up. [210]

4 April 2002: one of the back windows of the synagogue in the Lekstraat in Amsterdam was badly damaged during the night.

24 April 2002: a Jewish market vendor in the centre of Amsterdam was threatened with a pistol and the words “I’ll shoot you dead”.

2. Verbal aggressions/hate speech

In 2000 the number of incidents of verbal intimidation of Jews sharply increased; CIDI registered 32 incidents of verbal abuse. [211] In comparison with this figure in the first four months of 2002, 40 cases of anti-Semitic abuse were registered by CIDI. Most of the anti-Semitic discrimination and incidents involved the use of swastikas, the distribution of neo-Nazi propaganda and delivering the Hitler salute.

Direct threats

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in schools and at the workplace is growing. The slogan “Hamas, Hamas, Joden aan het gas” (Hamas, Hamas, all Jews to the gas) and the accusation “Kankerjoden” (cancerous growth Jews) are frequently used against the Jewish population by native Dutch, often by children and by members of the Muslim population. [212]

Indirect threats

During the pro-Palestinian demonstration in Amsterdam on 13 April 2002, 75 swastikas were carried amongst the 15,000-20,000 participants, almost 90% of whom were not native Dutch; Israeli and American flags were also burned. [213] 200 mostly non-native Dutch Moroccan young people were responsible for the excesses during the demonstration. [214] At other pro-Palestinian demonstrations mainly Moroccan participants called out anti-Semitic slogans, including the aforementioned “Hamas, Hamas, all Jews to the gas”, a slogan that is heard repeatedly in football stadiums, in particular by supporters of Feyenoord Rotterdam; [215] anti-Semitic symbols were also visible. It was also noticed that such chants have long become the norm in football stadiums. [216]

On 31 July 2002 Feyenoord Rotterdam Football Club held an open day during which football fans bawled anti-Semitic slogans; as there was no police presence no action was taken. [217]

Graffiti

In March and April the Memorials for the Murdered Jews in Wageningen and Meppel were smeared with paint and graffiti reading “Israel fascist state”. [218]  

Media

On 26 April 2002 an article by Hayo Meyer appeared in the daily Volkskrant under the title “Israel misbruikt antisemitisme taboe” (Israel abuses the anti-Semitism taboo). In the article the author used the classical anti-Semitic stereotype that the Jews themselves are to blame for anti-Semitism. Ronny Naftaniel, director of the CIDI, was given the opportunity on 2 May to reply to the accusation and criticise Meyer. [219]

Gretta Duisenberg, wife of European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg, has hung a Palestinian flag from her balcony and was accused by some people to have made anti-Semitic statements. This initiated a broad public debate. [220]

Internet

According to the CIDI, the Internet plays an important role in spreading anti-Semitism. Of the 550 complaints about the Internet registered by the Discrimination Internet Registration Centre in 2001, 203 concerned anti-Semitic incidents. [221] In 2001 197 anti-Semitic homepages were located on the Internet; in the first four months of 2002 the number had already reached 87. [222]  

3. Research studies

The Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the EUMC for the year 2000 [223] showed that the proportion of Dutch who are to be characterised as “tolerant” towards minorities lies far above the European average.

The survey commissioned by the ADL conducted between 9 and 29 September 2002 concerning “European Attitudes towards Jews, Israel and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” (see Table: Report on Belgium) established that compared to the other nine countries included in the surveys one finds the lowest percentage of anti-Semitic attitudes among the Dutch. [224] 48% agreed with the statement that “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to this country” whereby 20 % agreed to the statement “Jews have too much power in the business world”.

4. Good practices for reducing prejudices, violence and aggression

A network comprising of many organisations [225] is active against racism, organises demonstrations and annual activities within the programme of the national Anti-Racism Day held in March. Two successful educational programmes were conducted in Dutch schools: “School without racism” and “A world of differences”. The CIDI youth group and the youth organisation of the Moroccan association Tans (Towards A New State) organised a joint meeting at the beginning of July 2002 to get to know one another better and to plan more joint projects and events in the future. [226] CIDI demanded of the responsible offices and in particular from the government the establishment of an initiative (Overlegorgaan Religie en Levenbeschouwing) which shall be devoted to religious and general life issues in daily co-existence between the various religions, above all with a focus on transgressing boundaries in relation to persons of different faith. [227]

5. Reactions by politicians and other opinion leaders

On 31 May 2002 the member of parliament Boris Dittrich from the D 66 party submitted an inquiry to the Justice and Interior Ministers as to what measures the state intends to undertake concerning the anti-Semitic attacks in 2001 and 2002, presented on 30 May 2002, which showed a drastic increase in anti-Semitic incidents. [228]  

Austria [229]  

Within the population of Austria (8 million) Jews form a small minority of about 8,000 persons, mainly living in Vienna. The Austrian problem of anti-Semitism seems to focus more on diffused and traditional stereotypes than on acts of physical aggression. Extreme rightist and neo-Nazi groups have intensified their activities since 2000, encouraged by the FPÖ electoral success in March 1999. [230] Anti-Semitism is a main ideological component of most extreme right-wing groups and their publications in Austria. In the course of the last few years, themes directly concerned with the National Socialist past have been debated again and again in the public sphere: demonstrations were held against the Wehrmacht exhibition, there was controversy regarding a Holocaust memorial that was officially opened in 2000 and the question of restitution.

Anti-Semitism was an important issue in public debate during the period of observation. The crucial point in many discussions was indeed whether it was anti-Semitic to criticise or offend individual Jews or Israeli politics. The quality papers provided a rather clear answer: criticising or defaming Jews for being Jewish or playing with long-standing anti-Semitic stereotypes was indeed an act of anti-Semitism, whereas criticism of the work or behaviour of people of Jewish descent was not. We agree with this definition supposing that this criticism refers to Israeli governmental politics or any other behaviour which will not be connected with the Jewish descent of the criticised. Some debates showed how fuzzy the concepts of anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli criticism are. Especially in this grey-zone, ideas like a worldwide Jewish conspiracy “dictating political correctness” were rather openly expressed. The Austrian problem of anti-Semitism seems to focus more on these diffused and traditional stereotypes than on acts of physical aggression.

1. Physical acts of violence

The media analysis of the daily papers did not reveal any physical acts of violence towards Jews, their communities, organisations or their property.

According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, a memorial plaque near the synagogue in St. Pölten, Lower Austria was damaged. The investigations of the complaint are yet to be completed, but the incident is an alleged infringement of Article 126 StGB (Criminal Code) (serious damage to property). The Federal Ministry of the Interior emphasised that its report possibly does not cover all incidents occurring during the monitoring period.

The NGO ZARA, based in Vienna and providing counselling and aid to victims and witnesses of racism, told the NFP that only one smearing of a swastika in Vienna was reported to them within the period of observation.

2. Verbal aggression/hate speech

Insults

The Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Innsbruck received one threatening letter. It was addressed to the president and individual members of the community. The letter said that Jews were not welcome in the Tyrol and that they should go to the USA or Israel, where they actually belonged. The letter also stated that the President of the Kultusgemeinde should apologise on TV for what the Israelis are doing to the Palestinians, and indicated there would be consequences if she refused to do so. The Forum gegen Antisemitismus (Forum against Anti-Semitism) reported that the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien received 18 threatening letters and there were about six cases that their clients had qualified as anti-Semitic during the period of observation. The Ministry of the Interior reported two incidents of verbal aggression. A professor at the University of Salzburg received an anti-Semitic flyer from the USA. A billboard with anti-Jewish slogans was put up in Ried, Upper Austria. [231] Investigations into this incident have yet to be completed.

Media

The media analysis of the dailies disclosed three letters to the editor containing anti-Semitic language. [232] One letter accused the Israelis of being themselves responsible for the emerging anti-Semitism; the other two letters were related to the discussion about the memorial Siegfriedskopf. The memorial was put up in commemoration of the people affiliated to the University of Vienna killed during WWI, but German fraternities, who mobilised against Jews and organisations accepting Jews as members, dominated the inauguration ceremony.

The analysis of the right-wing papers shows how anti-Israeli statements from right-wing politicians and journalists are linked to anti-Semitism and draw on the repertoire of anti-Semitic stereotypes. In an interview Jörg Haider spoke about the necessary fight against terrorism following 9/11, including the fight against “the state terrorist acts of Israel against the Palestinians”. “It is the old problem of the ambivalent standards the US applies, as everything done by Israel is accepted, including the extinction of civilians, of innocent people, whose houses are demolished by caterpillars, although there are still people in them. Whereas the USA is totally allergic to any kind of terrorist activity executed by the Arab side.” [233] Haider accuses the media of contributing to an unparalleled “Volksverdummung” (making the people stupid) as they conceal “the real backgrounds of the power-political conflict in the world and especially in the Middle East”. [234]

The following newspaper article, entitled “Israel is different”, gives an insight into the repertoire of anti-Semitic stereotypes invoked by right-wing extremism: “Israel has always been presented as a moral and political model state during the last decades. This picture was severely damaged by the latest incidents: more than 700,000 Palestinians have been expelled after the state of Israel has been founded .... Reparations paid for the victims of the Holocaust by Germany, Austria and Switzerland are hardly ever used for their dedicated purposes .... In 2002, Israeli soldiers have allegedly committed war crimes in Jenin and other cities.” [235]

Public discourse/politics

The German discussion on anti-Semitism also filtered through into the regular party conference (Parteitag) of the Freedom Party (FPÖ). Governor Jörg Haider stated, alluding in the direction of Möllemann (deputy-chairman of the German FDP and party leader in North Rhine-Westphalia), that “if you are of an opinion, you must not get down on your knees about it a few days later”, and that the weakness in response to left-wing or Jewish critics is the reason why the FDP will never be as successful as the FPÖ. [236] In an interview with the daily Kurier [237] , Haider stated that it was unbearable that “the politically correct class” was dictating what to think and what not to think. 

The conflict between the author Karl-Markus Gauß and Luc Bondy, director of the Wiener Festwochen (Viennese cultural festival), is based on a statement by Gauß in his book Mit mir, ohne mich [238] hinting at Bondy’s vanity. Following the German debate about Martin Walser’s novel “Tod eines Kritikers”, Bondy said in an interview: “I am quite sure that Gauß is not an anti-Semite – apparently unconsciously he reverted to the rhetoric arsenal of anti-Semitism.” Gauß responded by saying that the images he used for Bondy’s vanity were definitely not taken from a pool of anti-Semitic stereotypes. Furthermore, he pointed out that it was rather dangerous to use the term “anti-Semitism” in a private conflict, for this leads to a term having a devastating tradition and exerting an ominous force in Austria losing its meaning. [239]

3. Research Studies

We did not encounter any research studies reporting anti-Semitic violence or opinion polls on changed attitudes towards Jews. A research study also dealing with the place of anti-Semitism amongst racism and xenophobia under the title “Fremdenfeindlichkeit in Österreich” (Xenophobia in Austria) was conducted in the second half of the 1990s and presented at a press conference last year. Forty-six percent of the respondents showed a low or a very low tendency towards anti-Semitism, 35% were neutral and 19% were strongly or very strongly inclined to anti-Semitism. [240] The most recent survey “Attitudes towards Jews and the Holocaust in Austria" from 2001 [241] shows that agreement with anti-Semitic statements had increased compared to 1995 and that in a European comparison Austria belongs to those countries in which anti-Semitism is still widespread amongst the population. For example, 40% of Austrians in 2001, as against 29% in 1995, “strongly agree/or somewhat strongly agree” with the statement “Now, as in the past, Jews exert too much influence on world events.”

The survey commissioned by the ADL conducted between 9 and 29 September 2002 concerning “European Attitudes towards Jews, Israel and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” (see Table: Report on Belgium) established that anti-Semitic attitudes are still quite widespread among the Austrian respondents . 54% agreed with the statement “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to this country” whereby 40 % agreed to the statement “Jews have too much power in the business world”. [242]

4. Good practices for reducing prejudice, violence and aggression

In the book “5 Fragen an 3 Generationen: Antisemitismus und wir heute” (5 Questions put to 3 Generations: Anti-Semitism and we today) [243] the three authors belonging to three different generations ask themselves five questions about anti-Semitism: [244] What are Jews to you? Has your attitude towards Jews changed during your lifetime? How do you explain Hitler and the extinction of the Jews to young people today? Are you for or against Jews emigrating from the East to Germany and Austria today just as in 1900? What do you think about Israel? The three authors answer these questions in a very personal way and try to explain the phenomenon of anti-Semitism and show the different perspectives of the three generations concerning the persecution of the Jews in the Nazi period and Israel. The book was presented and discussed in the Austrian newspaper where it was characterised as signifying “cultural change”. [245]

The Mistelbacher Stadtmuseum (Municipal Museum in Mistelbach, Lower Austria) opened its exhibition Verdrängt und vergessen – Die Juden von Mistelbach (Repressed and Forgotten - The Jews of Mistelbach) on 9 June 2002. The exhibition shows the development of Jewish settlement since 1867, the life of the former Jewish community and their extinction.

The Jüdisches Museum Hohenems (Jewish Museum Hohenems) opened its exhibition Rosenthals. Collage einer Familiengeschichte (The Rosenthals. Collage of a Family History), which tells stories about a Jewish family who formerly lived in the Hohenems region and are now scattered all over the world. The stories and pieces were collected and displayed by the members of the Rosenthal family themselves.

5. Reactions by politicians and other opinion leaders

The members of the Austrian Government neither commented on any of the good practices mentioned above, nor on the negative trends mentioned in this report.

The following reactions and discussions by and among politicians and other opinion leaders show how fuzzy the borders between anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli attitudes are. Imprudent statements directed against the state of Israel and its leading politicians are apt to stimulate anti-Semitism, especially among those who are susceptible to anti-Semitic stereotypes.

Last year, the municipality of Salzburg put up a memorial plaque for Theodor Herzl which read: “In Salzburg I spent some of the happiest hours of my life. Dr. Theodor HERZL 1860-1904.” (“In Salzburg brachte ich einige der schönsten Stunden meines Lebens zu”) Federal President Klestil informed Heinz Schaden, the mayor of Salzburg, that he would prefer to see the complete quotation from Herzl’s diary: “So I would have loved to stay in this beautiful city, but, being a Jew, I would have never been awarded with the position of a judge.” In his letter, President Klestil wrote that “especially in Austria we must treat the memory of Theodor Herzl with special sensitivity.” [246] This was the starting point of a discussion at the beginning of June, involving the Israelitische Kultusgemeinden Salzburg and Wien and ending with an agreement on 10 June 2002 to complete the text. [247]

On 24 May, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, visited the former concentration camp in Auschwitz during her visit to Poland. [248] In her speech she stressed that it was “not easy for Austria to confess that many of our compatriots have been perpetrators, accomplices or people who knew about things happening (Mitwisser).” She stated that “we must learn from Auschwitz that we cannot watch inactively where anti-Semitism, hatred and intolerance occur.” 

On 12 June, Ariel Muzicant and Josef Pühringer, chairman of the Landeshauptleutekonferenz (Governors Conference of the Federal Provinces), signed a restitution treaty. The treaty says that the Federal Provinces will pay 8.1 million Euro to the Kultusgemeinde for property that once belonged to Jewish communities and was expropriated or destroyed during the Nazi regime. The treaty cannot come into force, though, before the two class-action lawsuits in the USA are dropped. [249] The negotiations prior to the signing of the treaty were closely watched, as governor Jörg Haider and Ariel Muzicant were previously involved in court proceedings, and Haider finally apologized for his libellous statement about Muzicant in February 2001. The discussion on whether Haider’s statement about Muzicant was anti-Semitic or not, dominated public discourse for a couple of weeks. An expert from the Kultusgemeinde Salzburg told us that the Internet fora of the ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation) and dailies were full of anti-Semitic statements in connection with reports on the signing of this reparation treaty.

Portugal [250]

In Portugal (total population: 10 million) there is no tradition of anti-Semitism in recent times. Apart from a period of some tension between Salazar’s regime and the Portuguese Jewish community – that never resulted in persecution –, in the recent past the small Jewish community (700 people) has been assimilated and accepted by Portuguese society. After the dawn of democracy, Jews were totally accepted as another religious minority and its religion is protected under the act acknowledging religious plurality.

1. Physical acts of violence

In July the Lisbon synagogue was vandalised and sacred objects scattered on the floor. [251]

2. Verbal aggression/hate speech

Direct threats

There are no reports of complaints neither by the Jewish community, the press, NGOs nor other media.

Insults

The Israel Embassy has received slanderous calls and Internet messages with offensive content.

Telephone

There are no reports of physical or material threats against the Jewish community and its property.

Graffiti

The Israeli Embassy reported that their flag in the “Nations Park”, located where the World Expo took place in 1998 and now a major social meeting place in Lisbon, was vandalised. Several Nazi swastikas and other insults appeared on the flag platform.

Leaflets

No material of this kind was reported to have appeared in circulation. The Jewish community, as expressed through its representative, considered an e-mail sent by a professor of the Trás-os-Montes University the main anti-Semitic event in the monitored period. In this e-mail, addressing the conflict in the Middle East, a phrase stated “If there are any good Jews (which I doubt) (…)”. Another professor of the same university alerted the Portuguese Jewish community about this e-mail, who in turn then revealed it to the press, where it was published in the newspaper Público.

Public discourse

On a visit to Israel, the Nobel Prize winner José Saramago declared to Portuguese radio station Antenna 1, that “It must be said that in Palestine, there is a crime which we can stop. We may compare it with what happened at Auschwitz”. While visiting Ramallah and Arafat with members of the International Parliament of Writers, Saramago stated that the Israeli blockade of Ramallah is "in the spirit of Auschwitz," and "this place is being turned into a concentration camp." [252]

Internet

Several Portuguese Nazi sites appeared in 2002 on the Internet. Some of them have anti-Semitic declarations and articles. However, these are translations of anti-Semitic articles written in other countries, mainly from the US. No explicit threats to the Portuguese Jewish community were found in any of these sites (at least in the period monitored). One particular site has more explicit anti-Semitic allusions: Movimento da Reconstrução Nacional Socialista Atlântico (Atlantic Movement for the National Socialist Reconstruction). At this site one can find several links to further national and foreign National Socialist sites. The majority of the anti-Semitic sites are Brazilian; and though we can also find Portuguese fascist and nationalist sites, they do not display anti-Semitic references.

3. Research studies

There is no recent report on anti-Semitic aggression or attitudes.

4. Good practices for reducing prejudice, violence and aggression

There are no reported examples of good practices. 

5. Reactions by politicians and other opinion leaders

The President recently participated in the 100-year celebrations for the Lisbon Synagogue. On that occasion the President stated that Portugal should pay more attention to Jewish culture and to its several famous names, claiming that they are an integral part of Portuguese history. The main newspapers broadcasted the celebrations and printed the President’s address.

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