AMSTERDAM: An explosion damaged 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 only caused limited damage, Mayor Femke Halsema said in a press release, as police and firefighters arrived at the scene quickly.
No injuries were reported.
An investigation has been opened, and the incident comes after nighttime attacks this week in front of synagogues in the Belgian city of Liege and the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.
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.
“This is a cowardly act of aggression against the Jewish community,” Halsema said. She added that the police have CCTV footage of a person placing the explosive device.
“Jewish people in Amsterdam are increasingly confronted with antisemitism. This is unacceptable.”
Concerns about possible attacks against Jewish communities around the world have risen following US and Israeli attacks on Iran and a subsequent response from Tehran.
