Program: MSc Crisis and Security Management Student: Sara Zolak Student Number: S1623818 Date: January 13th, 2019 Subject: Antisemitism, and the influence of Islamists in the Netherlands Word Count: 23.998 (Excluding references, bibliography, and footnotes) Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Myriam Benraad Second Reader: Dr. Joery Matthys “All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome.” George Orwell ACKNOWLEGEMENT Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Myriam Benraad. Thank you so much for your calm guidance and intelligent recommendations. Dr. Joery Matthys, thank you for your comments, and for being the second reader. Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Dr. Alex P. Schmid for introducing me to the topic of antisemitism as a research subject. It has changed my perspective in many respects. It is something hard to let go now. Furthermore, I would like to express my appreciation to both the Orthodox and Liberal Jewish Community in Rotterdam, and especially to Chawa and Albert – thank you for your time and cooperation. Paul van der Bas, you were very kind and helpful – thanks. My special gratitude goes to my dear mother Andrée Louise. Thank you for providing me the opportunity to study, and for giving me all that you never have had. ~ Thank you In remembrance of Mireille Knoll … 1 INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH QUESTION ....................................................... 2 1.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE .................................................................................................... 6 1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................... 6 1.3 SOCIETAL RELEVANCE OF THE RESEARCH ................................................................... 6 1.4 ACADEMIC RELEVANCE: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................... 9 1.5 READING GUIDE ............................................................................................................. 13 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................................. 14 2.1 ANTISEMITISM ............................................................................................................... 14 2.2 ISLAMISM ........................................................................................................................ 18 2.2.1 DA’WA: THE CALL FOR ISLAM IN THE NETHERLANDS ................................................. 21 2.3 ISLAMISM AND ANTISEMITISM ..................................................................................... 24 2.3.1 SCHOLARLY DEBATE ................................................................................................... 25 2.3.2 ISLAMIZED ANTISEMITISM ............................................................................................ 33 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ......................................................... 36 3.1 THE FIRST PHASE: ANTISEMITISM AND STATISTICS ................................................... 37 3.1.1 FINDINGS ...................................................................................................................... 38 3.2 THE SECOND PHASE: JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN ROTTERDAM .................................. 41 3.2.1 FINDINGS ...................................................................................................................... 42 3.3 THE THIRD PHASE: INFLUENCE OF ISLAMISTS ........................................................... 44 3.3.1 OPERATIONALIZATION ................................................................................................. 44 4 ANALYSIS: ISLAMISTS IN ROTTERDAM .............................................................. 46 4.1 DATA GATHERING ......................................................................................................... 57 4.2 OPERATIONALIZATION .................................................................................................. 58 5 INTERVIEW FINDINGS ............................................................................................... 61 5.1 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES ................................................................................................. 61 5.2 PERSPECTIVES ON DUTCH SOCIETY AND THE WEST .................................................. 62 5.3 THE MEDIA ..................................................................................................................... 63 5.4 PALESTINE AND ISRAEL ................................................................................................. 66 5.5 ZIONISM .......................................................................................................................... 69 5.6 US GOVERNMENT .......................................................................................................... 70 5.7 HOLOCAUST ................................................................................................................... 72 5.8 SOURCES ......................................................................................................................... 72 6 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ............................................................................. 74 6.1 DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS ...................................................................................... 74 6.2 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 78 6.3 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................. 79 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 81 8 APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................. 114 1 1 Introduction and Research Question Since the year 2000 there is a clear rise of antisemitism, not only worldwide, but also in Western European states. Although, antisemitism is as normal in everyday life in the Middle East –today this, what Bassam Tibi (2010a) calls a Genocidal phenomenon, is (re)entering through the Muslim diaspora and is becoming more prominent in Western Europe as well. Radical Muslims are a recent group of perpetrators of antisemitic terrorist attacks in Europe. They justify their acts on religious grounds (Wistrich, 2002; Tibi, 2010). More often we hear of brutal Islamists antisemitic violence. In March 2018, Mireille Knoll, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor was brutally murdered in her home in Paris by her 28-year old neighbor who she had known her whole life. Sadly, these kinds of threats against Jews are apparent all across Europe, in France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, and also in the Netherlands (Ariel, 2018; BBC, 2015; Chazan, 2018; Derksen, 2018; Mamou, 2018). As a result of the Brussels Jewish Museum attack in 2014, more severe security measures are undertaken to protect Jewish institutions and religious places in the Netherlands. For example, the Anne Frank House and the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam are under permanent protection - but also Jewish schools and Synagogues (van Weezel & Broer, 2014). In a short period of time, three assaults were carried out against the same Jewish restaurant in Amsterdam. Subsequently political parties initiated The Jewish Accord,1 in order to combat antisemitism, and to take action for the safety of Jews living in Amsterdam (NOS, 2018; Derksen, 2018). According to archives and historical literature the first Jews arrived in the port cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Middelburg) of the Netherlands in the late 16th century. The first Jewish community was registered in 1602 in Amsterdam (Joodserfgoed Rotterdam, 2016). In the beginning of the 18th century this became the largest Jewish community in Western Europe. Due to the French Enlightenment at the end of the 18th century it became possible for Jews to integrate socially and politically in Dutch society – at 2 September 1796, the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic decided unanimously a decree that provided Jews with equal rights. In the same year the exclusion of Guilds membership was reversed. These changes provided 1 One of the few parties that did not sign the accord was Islamic party Denk. 2 many new chances and possibilities. Accordingly, Jews obtained prominent position in political and social life (Visser, 1996; CIDI, 2010). In September 1939 the Second World War started. The following year, on the 10th of May in 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Four days later, Rotterdam was bombed and destroyed, which resulted in the capitulation of the Netherlands. The occupation of Nazi Germany ended at the 5th of May in 1945. The armed resistance was only small during these five years of occupation, and a relative large number of Dutch men had joined the Germans on the Eastern front (CIDI, 2010). Large-scale deportations started in 1942, the first on the 14th of July. From then on, Jews were systematically transported via Camp Westerbork. Most were sent to Auschwitz, others to Sobibor, Bergen Belsen, or Theresienstadt (Joodserfgoed Rotterdam, n.d.). The Dutch police was involved in the razzia on Jews (CIDI, 2010). With the last deportation in September 1944, a total number of 102 deportations were carried out. Approximately 107.000 Jews were