Dutch Jewish leader tells ‘Post’: ‘If you’re visibly Jewish in Holland, you have a real problem’

Ellen van Praagh, chair of the InterProvincial Chief Rabbinate, warned that visibly Jewish people in the Netherlands face serious safety problems since October 7, 2023. Speaking ahead of the European Jewish Association delegation to Auschwitz, she said Jewish life in Europe may disappear in 20-30 years if leaders do not act. She cited threats, canceled events, and Holocaust survivors being turned away from schools.

Ellen van Praagh, chair of the InterProvincial Chief Rabbinate and a member of the European Jewish Association advisory board, warned that the safety of Jews in the Netherlands has deteriorated rapidly since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post ahead of the EJA delegation to Auschwitz, she said, "If you're visibly Jewish in Holland, you have a real problem." Van Praagh, whose family has lived in the Netherlands since the 1600s and lost about 70 relatives in the Holocaust, described a climate of overt threats, canceled Jewish events, and Holocaust survivors being turned away from schools. She noted that public venues in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague increasingly refuse to host Jewish events due to fear of harassment. Van Praagh urged European leaders not to look away, warning that without decisive action, there may be no Jewish life in Europe in 20 to 30 years.