Explosion at Amsterdam Jewish school was ‘deliberate attack’, mayor says

AMSTERDAM – An explosion caused minor damage to a Jewish school in Amsterdam early on Saturday, in what the city’s mayor ​described as “a deliberate attack against the Jewish community”.

The explosion at the school in an upscale residential neighbourhood ⁠on the south side of Amsterdam damaged a rainpipe ‌and charred an outer wall. It ​caused no injuries.

Mayor Femke Halsema said the incident was being taken very seriously and would lead to increased security at Jewish institutions.

“This ⁠is a cowardly act of ‌aggression against the ‌Jewish community,” Halsema said.

“Jewish people in Amsterdam are increasingly confronted with antisemitism. This ⁠is unacceptable.”

The school is the only one specifically for orthodox Jews in the ‌Netherlands, and is largely ‌fenced off by a pointed, metal outer wall due to earlier threats.

Dutch Prime Minister ⁠Rob Jetten called Saturday’s attack “horrible” and said ​it understandably ⁠caused fear ​and anger in the Jewish community.

“The safety of Jewish institutions has our full attention,” he said in a post on ⁠X.

Security at synagogues and Jewish institutions in the Dutch capital had already been heightened after an ⁠overnight arson attack at a synagogue in the centre of Rotterdam on Friday.

In neighbouring Belgium, an explosion caused a fire ⁠at a synagogue in ‌Liege on Monday.

Concerns about possible ​attacks against ‌Jewish communities around the world have risen ​following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and a subsequent response from Tehran.