Amsterdam synagogue, Jewish hospice targeted in vandalism incidents

AMSTERDAM — Police in the Netherlands are investigating vandalism at a synagogue and a hospice for people dying of terminal diseases.

The incident at the Immanuel Hospice occurred on January 2, the AT5 television channel reported Wednesday. A man wearing a sports jacket dislodged and stole two security cameras in the early hours of the morning.

The synagogue incident occurred on December 31 at Chabad Central Amsterdam, the Nieuw Israëlietisch Weekblad newspaper reported Friday. Unidentified individuals hurled bricks at one of the building’s windows in what a police spokesman told the weekly was an incident “with all the signs of a deliberate attack against a Jewish institution.”

The incidents follow the December 7 shattering of glass at a kosher restaurant in Amsterdam by a Syrian man who was waving a Palestinian flag as two police officers and passers-by watched. The officers arrested the man after he broke into the restaurant through the door he had smashed and removed an Israeli flag.

Dutch Jewish leaders criticized police for releasing the man, whose trial is ongoing, after 60 hours in detention and despite reports that he said he planned similar actions in the future.

In July, police dialed back their armed security around Jewish community buildings, replacing several watch posts manned by agents with security cameras. Security was increased again following the kosher restaurant incident.