Dutch Singer Lenny Kuhr Leaving Netherlands Citing Rising Antisemitism (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

AMSTERDAM/JERUSALEM (Worthy News)— Lenny Kuhr, the Dutch Jewish singer-songwriter who was among the winners of the world’s largest televised song contest and influenced generations with heartfelt chansons, is leaving her native Netherlands, citing rising antisemitism.

The 76-year-old says she plans to spend her remaining years in Israel with her husband at her side, following turbulent years marked by death threats, cancellations, and interruptions of concerts by pro-Palestinian protesters.

“Jews can no longer live carefree lives—always cautious, on edge. I see it, I feel it. And my husband and I are leaving for Israel. For good,” she said in remarks obtained by Worthy News.

She will also leave behind her fairytale-like “Hansel and Gretel” house in the Dutch town of Nuenen, in the province of North Brabant.

FAREWELL TO THE NETHERLANDS

“The farewell hurts. Goodbye, my once-so-beloved Netherlands; goodbye, my dear audience. Goodbye to all the kind people I know and love,” Kuhr said.

“I carry all of this in my heart to the land where we are so warmly welcome—to the land where we are expected,” she added, referring to Israel.

Kuhr stressed that she has not been easily intimidated. “I am not deterred by cancel culture, nor by death threats. I embrace my audience and my Netherlands, where in my own language I found the right words and the sounds that make a song.”

Yet she acknowledged that she would “reluctantly take my leave from expressing the most beautiful art form I know in this country,” with a final concert planned for May 31.

CAREER AND EUROVISION SUCCESS

Kuhr began her singing career in 1967 as a teenager performing songs in the French chanson tradition.

In 1969, she represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 with her composition “De troubadour,” becoming one of four winners that year.

In the early 1970s, she achieved notable success in France before returning to the Netherlands in 1980 with her hit “Visite,” performed with the French group Les Poppys.

She was also among the artists who recorded “Shalom from Holland” in 1991 as a token of solidarity with Israel during the Gulf War.

PERSONAL COST AND SECURITY CONCERNS

Now, decades later, Kuhr said it is painful to leave her home and say farewell to family and “dear friends.”

She noted that even in Israel, dangers remain. Her grandson, an Israeli soldier, was wounded during the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas against Israel.

Still, Kuhr is among a growing number of Jewish people leaving Europe or considering moving to Israel following recent anti-Jewish incidents in the Netherlands and countries including Britain, Germany, France, and Belgium.

Observers say the trend reflects mounting concerns within Jewish communities across Europe.

RISING ANTISEMITISM IN THE NETHERLANDS

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has warned that “in the Netherlands, an antisemitism epidemic is raging.”

In March, an attack on a Jewish school in Amsterdam was described by the mayor as a “deliberate attack against the Jewish community.”

Security had already been increased at Jewish institutions after a suspected arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam and violence targeting Israelis in Amsterdam in November 2024.

Worthy News has also documented incidents involving Jewish students confronted by pro-Palestinian protesters and other activists.

FEARS AMONG JEWISH COMMUNITY

Groups and individuals linked to pro-Israel causes, including Christians for Israel, have also reported attacks.

In some areas, religious Jews say they are reluctant to wear skullcaps, or kippahs, in public due to safety concerns.

Holocaust survivors—linked to the Shoah in which more than 100,000 Dutch Jews were killed during World War Two—have also reported verbal and physical abuse.

The Netherlands’ “core” Jewish population is estimated at around 35,000 people, or about 0.2 percent of the population.

FAITH AND HOPE AMID UNCERTAINTY

Concerns have been growing that more may decide to leave, like Kuhr, whose daughters, Sharon and Daphna, from a previous marriage, already live in Israel.

Amid the tensions, pro-Israel gatherings have also taken place, including in Amsterdam.

“My Savior, Jesus Christ, was a Jew; the apostles were Jews; the Bible is a Jewish book. Antisemitism and anti-Zionism are deeply anti-Christian,” said Klaas-Jelle Kaptein, a Protestant minister from the fishing town of Urk.

For Kuhr, who embraced Judaism at age 25, Israel represents both a personal destination and a place of hope.

She and her husband, Rob Frank, now see the country as a refuge and inspiration in what she described as an increasingly volatile world.

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