Strong reaction from Jews to survey on the Holocaust in the Netherlands
According to the Associated Press, the Conference on the Material Claims of Jews Against Germany conducted a survey on the Holocaust (Jewish genocide) in the Netherlands.
12 percent of those surveyed believe the Holocaust was a myth or that the number of Jews killed was grossly exaggerated. 23 percent of those surveyed under the age of 40 think the Holocaust is a myth or exaggeration. The poll showed that 54 percent of those polled did not know that 6 million Jews were killed.
Gideon Taylor, president of the Claims Conference, said in a statement that knowledge and awareness of the Holocaust had declined. “Equally troubling is the trend toward Holocaust denial and distortion.” he used his statements.
Dutchman Max Arpels Lezer, whose mother was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp, said: “They should know their own national history. Many Jews were killed during the Holocaust, and it’s a shame,” he said.
Eddo Verdoner, the Dutch national coordinator to combat anti-Semitism, said it was “shocking” to see that 23 percent of adults under the age of 40 believed the Holocaust was a myth or exaggeration. Verdoner argued that schools should provide better education on the subject.
ANTISEMITISM AND ANTISLAM IN THE NETHERLANDS
A Dutch Jewish watchdog group announced that the number of registered anti-Semitic incidents in the country reached its highest level in 10 years in 2021, increasing by 35 percent compared to the previous year.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in his speech at the Holocaust Memorial, apologized for the wartime government’s failure to protect the Jewish people, becoming the first official to do so.
In the report prepared by the Netherlands Intelligence and Security Agency (AIVD), it is stated that racist ideas and expressions of the extreme right in the country, especially violent against Muslims, gradually increased from 2014-2015 compared to previous years.
In the report, it was claimed that far-right groups had previously been more prevalent in neo-Nazi, fascist, and anti-Semitism, especially anti-Islamic ideas. In the report, it was stressed that there was concern for the environment in the country.
In the Netherlands, cases such as sending threatening letters to Muslim mosques and homes stating that “Islam does not belong in the Netherlands” and tracking Muslims were common last year.
The fact that the court did not decide to process the lawsuits filed by threatening letters and not classify these actions as crimes also generated controversy.
In a study conducted in the country, 76 percent of those surveyed stated that they were discriminated against because of their religious beliefs.
In the Netherlands, the leader of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) movement, Edwin Wagensveld, tore up the Koran in his solo action in The Hague. (AA)