09 Nov 2023 at 14:28
For the first time, the organization of the National Kristallnacht commemoration in Amsterdam has to say no to interested parties. According to master of ceremonies Dave Heilbron, there is generally “always room”. But tonight the Portuguese Synagogue is completely full. “That is amazing.”
Heilbron still receives many phone calls and emails from people who would like to attend. Politicians in particular are “calling a lot at the moment,” he says in conversation with NU.nl. The master of ceremonies thinks they are shocked because of the negative sentiment on social media and in politics.
The Jewish interest group CIDI has seen a huge spike in the number of anti-Semitic incidents since Hamas’s attack on Israel a month ago. Mosques also seem to be targeted more often as a result of the conflict.
“Two weeks after October 7, the threat was quite high,” Heilbron recalls. But the organization did not hesitate to continue the event. “We keep our backs straight.” The support the organization received from the mayor of Amsterdam helped. Support also came from the government.
Security has been increased with police and military police. In addition, registrations are being examined more closely. “Everyone who has registered goes through the screening,” says Heilbron. “Normally we would deal with that more easily.”
Kaag speaks because of his political position and personal situation
One of the speakers is outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag. The organization wanted her there because of her political position, but also because of her personal situation. “Sigrid Kaag has of course already been threatened in the past.”
Mirjam Weitzner-Smuk tells what it was like to experience Kristallnacht as a child in the German town of Essen. On that night in 1938, dozens of Jews were murdered in the streets. Nazis also burned synagogues on a large scale and destroyed Jewish shops and homes.
After the Hamas attack on October 7, the organization of the National Kristallnacht commemoration decided to also let the Israeli ambassador speak on Thursday. Modi Ephraim will mainly discuss the relationship between that attack and Kristallnacht.
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‘Largest massacre of Jewish group since the war’
Heilbron compares October 7 with the disaster of flight MH17, in which 196 Dutch people, among others, died. Many people directly or indirectly know someone who died as a result. According to the master of ceremonies, the same applies to the fourteen hundred people who died in one day in Israel. “This is the largest massacre of a Jewish group of people since the war. It has such an enormous impact on Jewish society in the Netherlands.”
“I have nothing to do with Israeli politics,” Heilbron emphasizes. But the master of ceremonies does have family who live in Israel. That’s partly why he feels connected to the people there.
Heilbron hopes that people in Dutch politics and on social media will think more carefully before sharing certain slogans. He draws strength from the interest there is in this year’s Kristallnacht commemoration. “What I find positive is that people are still standing around us. That society says: enough is enough.”
2023-11-09 13:28:05
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