Dutch Pro-Israel Christian Group Hiding Magazine
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – A Dutch Christian foundation supporting efforts to provide the Gospel, Bibles, and humanitarian aid to Jews is among the latest pro-Israel groups to distribute its publication in a sealed envelope amid mounting antisemitism in the Netherlands.
Israel en de Bijbel (Israel and the Bible) sends its regular magazine with the same name no longer in an open package, noted its senior supporter and journalist Johan Th. Bos.
“These are a sign of the times,” he told Worthy News. Earlier, the editor-in-chief of the Nieuw Israëlietisch Weekblad (New Israeli Weekly or NIW), Esther Voet, said she no longer sends out her magazine “openly” every week.
She said the decision came after subscribers, including Jewish people, explained concerns about possible repercussions due to the Israel-Hamas war. “We as NIW have had to decide not to send out our magazine anymore openly,” Voet added.
“The magazine is now sent in a white envelope. That is the first time, and we have been around since 1865. We are the oldest opinion weekly in the Netherlands,” she explained.
The editor-in-chief says many “are afraid to receive that magazine in the mail. I have always strongly opposed [to hide] it. There has always been fear, but we have now had to decide this.”
The faction leader of the social liberal Democraten 66 (Democrats 66) party, Rob Jetten, stressed it was time to “prevent polarization in our society.” He added, “It is a terrible example that a magazine must be sent in a neutral envelope.”
UNDER PRESSURE
However, his party has come under pressure over the influx of mainly Muslim migrants, as many were seen at anti-Israel rallies.
In recent elections, the anti-Islam Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom) became the largest party in the lower house of Parliament, reflecting among voters about antisemitic incidents.
It comes after people in Amsterdam were asked by authorities to take off their yarmulkes and take down their Israeli flags during a recent pro-Israel protest, citing security concerns.
At the same time, Jewish schools in Amsterdam were closed, Jewish children’s organization Cheider said, amid reports that Dutch police could not guarantee their safety.
Within the Dutch Jewish community, there are fears of incidents after Hamas called for protests across the Muslim world, a Holocaust survivor told Worthy News.
She fears an atmosphere of hatred as existed ahead of the Holocaust, or Shoah, when some 75 percent of the roughly 140,000 Jews living in the Netherlands were killed.
The tensions in the Netherlands highlighted broader concerns in Europe’s anti-Jewish sentiments that have prompted many Jews to migrate to Israel.
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