The Jewish Community of Amsterdam temporarily shuttered one of its synagogues, citing misconduct, including security breaches, by followers of an Israeli rabbi. The Jewish Community of Amsterdam, or NIHS, on Wednesday said on its Facebook page that the closure of the synagogue on Lek Street in the south of the Dutch capital was effective Friday…
The Anne Frank House had a record number of visitors in 2014 — the fifth straight year the Amsterdam museum has set a new mark. The museum, located at the site where the young diarist hid from the Nazis with her family, had nearly 1.23 million visitors last year, 32,006 more than in 2013. The…
At a public lighting of Hanukkah candles, Amsterdam’s acting mayor urged Jews to celebrate their faith openly to counter rising levels of anti-Semitism. “The answer to intolerance lies precisely in demonstrating freedom of worship and of expression,” Eric van der Burg said Tuesday, lighting the first candle of the holiday. Gesturing toward the three-foot menorah…
Like many Jewish grandmothers, Martine and Louise Fokkens enjoy talking about their grandchildren in language laced with Yiddish. At 71, the twins from Amsterdam also paint, think often about the Holocaust and attend synagogue on Jewish holidays. But the Fokkens are not like most Jewish grandmothers. For one thing, they recently retired after 50 years…
Holland’s main Jewish museum launched a children’s educational program centered around a new play about Anne Frank. The Amsterdam-based Jewish Historical Museum announced late last week the launch of the new program, which emphasizes the Jewish elements of the story of Anne Frank for pupils who watch the play “Anne.” Produced in cooperation with the…
Facebook/Exodays Dana International made quite a splash this weekend at the Gay Pride in Amsterdam, when the Israeli transgender singing sensation lifted a cardboard sign in the shape of the Ten Commandments. The sight of the Israeli singer, perched atop the Pride’s first Jewish boat, caused anti-Israel protestors to shout. But Dana, not one for…
(JTA) — Its passengers included celebrities, a rabbi and revelers in biblically themed costumes, but the Jewish boat at Amsterdam’s gay pride parade stood out for more than just its riders. Following a west-to-east course along the Dutch capital’s Prinsengracht canal on Saturday along with dozens of similarly flamboyant vessels, the Jewish boat was the only…
A Jewish woman who displayed an Israeli flag from her balcony in Amsterdam was targeted with a firebomb and death threats. The firebomb landed on the balcony of neighbors of Leah Rabinovitch, a Mexico-born Jewish woman who flew the Israeli flag on Amsterdam’s Kruger Square, located in an eastern neighborhood heavily populated with Moroccan immigrants,…
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