Dutch premier hears concerns of anti-Semitism

[Behind the Aegis]

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said Friday that Dutch Muslim and Jewish groups need to work together to ease tensions following a series of apparent anti-Semitic attacks.

At least four Dutch synagogues were targets of arson or stoning during Israel's three-week offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip that ended this week, and some demonstrators at anti-Israel protests shouted slogans of "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas."

No one was hurt and damage has been minimal, but "the incidents are very serious," said Ronny Naftaniel of the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel.

In the latest incident, a house was torched in an Amsterdam suburb earlier this week. Neighbors said the word "Jood," or Jew, was daubed in yellow paint on the window, according to Zoomin.nl, a Dutch internet TV network, although film footage showed that part of the scrawled word was missing in the broken glass and police have not classified it as a racist act.

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