Anti-Semitic incidents drop in the Netherlands

A watchdog on anti-Semitism in the Netherlands says there were 126 anti-Semitic incidents in the county in 2015 — a 26-percent decrease from the previous year.

Of the incidents recorded by the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) in 2015, 36 were in the victims’ direct environment, meaning incidents involving neighbors or acquaintances the victims knew as opposed to anonymous threats and abuse online.

Five incidents involved physical violence against people and six were cases of vandalism. The most common category of incident was insults shouted or spoken on the street, accounting for 19 percent of the total, or 24 incidents. Online anti-Semitic harassment in the form of emails and electronic messages totaled 12 cases.

Incidents involving schools were the highest recorded in a decade, with 16 cases. Noting a steady increase in that category over the past three years, CIDI director Hanna Luden called it “a worrisome trend” in a statement.

— JTA