Jewish School in Amsterdam Was Bombed Overnight, One Day After Synagogue Attack in Rotterdam
The explosion at the Cheider school in Buitenveldert is the second attack on a Jewish institution in the Netherlands in two days and has been claimed by the same group behind a synagogue bombing in Belgium earlier this week.
An explosive device was detonated against the outer wall of a Jewish school in Amsterdam in the early hours of Saturday morning, in what city authorities are calling a targeted attack on the Jewish community. Nobody was injured. The blast follows an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam the night before, and a synagogue bombing in the Belgian city of Liège earlier this week.
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What happened in Amsterdam
The explosion struck the Cheider, an Orthodox Jewish school providing both primary and secondary education on Zeelandstraat in the Buitenveldert district of Amsterdam. Authorities said the blast damaged an exterior wall of the school building. Police have CCTV footage showing a suspect placing and igniting the device. A video circulating on social media shows a person on a scooter leaving the scene immediately after the explosion.
Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema, together with the police and public prosecutor, described the explosion as a targeted attack against the Jewish community and said the matter is being treated with the utmost seriousness. Authorities said they are working closely with national security services and are in contact with representatives of the Jewish community.
Education Minister Rianne Letschert called the attack a shocking new low point of intimidation and antisemitism. "Schools must be safe places for every child," she said.
What happened in Rotterdam
The night before, around 3:40am, fire was set to a synagogue in the centre of Rotterdam. The blaze went out on its own before emergency services needed to extinguish it. No one was injured. Later on Friday, four suspects were arrested: two 19-year-olds, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old. They were stopped in a car near another synagogue after the vehicle was observed driving suspiciously.
It was not yet clear at the time of arrest whether the suspects had also been planning a further attack.
The same logo in both videos
The video footage from the Amsterdam explosion shows the same logo as the video from the Rotterdam arson attack the night before. The Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel identified the symbol as belonging to the Islamic movement Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyyah. The same group had already used that logo when it claimed responsibility for the synagogue attack in Liège earlier this week.
A pattern across Europe
On Monday, an explosion damaged a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège before dawn, causing some damage but no injuries. Belgian authorities said they were analysing a video claiming responsibility for the attack which appeared to be jihadist in nature. On Thursday, an unidentified assailant also rammed his car into a synagogue on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, sparking a fire.
Justice Minister David van Weel condemned both Dutch incidents, writing: "Two nights in a row a cowardly attack with an explosive at a Jewish building. First in Rotterdam, now in Amsterdam." He added that greater damage in Amsterdam had been prevented due to heightened security measures already in place.
The national coordinator for combating antisemitism, Eddo Verdoner, said the perpetrators are deliberately trying to terrorise the Jewish community and called the attacks an act of unprecedented cowardice. "Antisemitism has increased enormously in recent years," he said.
Jewish institutions in Amsterdam have had permanent security for years. That protection was further intensified earlier this week following the attacks in Belgium and Rotterdam. Police investigations into both the Amsterdam and Rotterdam incidents are ongoing.
