Dutch Prime Minister Affixes Mezuzah, Urges Jews to Stay

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten delivered a surprising message of solidarity with the Jewish community this week, affixing a mezuzah to his own home's doorpost. The act took place during a speech at the historic Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, commemorating 88 years since Kristallnacht. Jetten revealed that he received the mezuzah, originally designed for Jewish students, as a gift from Rabbi Yanki Jacobs, a Chabad emissary leading "Chabad on Campus" in the Netherlands.

Jetten's decision to publicly display the mezuzah stands in contrast to the trend of some Dutch Jews removing them from their doorways due to fears of becoming targets of harassment. "It turns out that fewer and fewer people are affixing a mezuzah to their doorframe to avoid negative reactions," the Prime Minister stated. "I decided to hang this meaningful gift in my home, near the entrance, to show that I want to be the prime minister of a country where Jewish life is visible."

Speaking emotionally, Jetten addressed Jewish families contemplating emigration from the Netherlands due to the current climate. "I know there are people in the Jewish community who are considering leaving the Netherlands, people who are asking themselves if their children even have a future here. The very thought of this is very sad, and I would like to ask them: Do not give in to it. Because this is your home, the Netherlands is the shared home of us all."

Referencing both the dark history of November 1938, when the Netherlands closed its borders to Jews fleeing Nazi terror, and the October 7, 2023 massacre, Jetten pledged that his government is allocating additional funds to strengthen security around Jewish institutions. However, he acknowledged that the police alone cannot fix a "poisoned culture."

This display of support occurred just one day after over 200,000 anti-Israel protesters marched through Amsterdam, demanding harsher sanctions against Israel. Notably, Jetten did not participate in this demonstration, despite having attended a similar rally a year prior and his government's ongoing diplomatic disputes with Israel over an import ban on products from settlements.