Against the backdrop of worsening relations between Israel and the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander visited a synagogue in The Hague on Tuesday and delivered a clear message to Dutch Jews: They should not be held responsible for events in Israel.
“The silent majority in the Netherlands must stand around our Jewish community and say: ‘Hands off them,’” the king said during his visit to Beth Jehoeda synagogue, calling on Dutch society to confront antisemitism. “Jews are not responsible for what happens in Israel.”
Dutch King Willem-Alexander during a visit to a synagogue in The Hague
(Video: Dutch Royal House)
The visit took place under heavy police security and was intended as a show of support for a community whose members say they have felt increasingly isolated and unsafe since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The visit also comes as relations between Israel and the Netherlands have deteriorated, including tensions surrounding checks at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for products originating in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Sid Wagenfeld, 22, who works with young people in the roughly 300-household congregation, told the king that many Jews had long felt they were largely on their own.
“There is always a sense of loneliness among Jews, that as a community we stand alone,” he said. “But the king coming here really shows that we are still part of the Netherlands and that we simply belong here.”
Wagenfeld said the feeling had intensified since Oct. 7. He stressed that many Jews feel a connection to Israel without necessarily identifying with its government. “Jews are connected to Israel, but not to the Israeli government,” he told the king. “That is a distinction many people do not see.”
During the visit, Willem-Alexander met three groups from the community, including rabbis from three generations, younger and older congregants and Jewish expatriates. Discussions focused on Jewish life in the Netherlands, combining religious tradition with modern life and concerns over personal and communal security.
When one participant asked how the community itself could reach the “silent majority” the king had invoked, Willem-Alexander offered a short answer: “Keep talking.”
Dutch King Willem-Alexander
(Photo: Dutch Royal House)
Community members described everyday examples of how insecurity has begun shaping their lives. One woman said she was afraid to order a taxi from her home to the synagogue. Others spoke of children who had changed schools and Jews who conceal Star of David necklaces in public. Dutch reports from the visit also described Jews no longer wearing kippahs openly or feeling comfortable reading Hebrew books on public transportation. News Brainport
Rabbi Asher Waterman said Jewish life in the Netherlands should not be reduced to Israel and antisemitism, despite the prominence of both subjects in public debate.
“People need to feel safe and comfortable here: LGBT people, women and Muslims too,” Waterman said. “Everyone should be able to be who they are.”
He told the king that after hateful graffiti was scrawled on the walls of a nearby mosque, he immediately sent a letter of support to its leadership.
A synagogue with 300 years of history
Beth Jehoeda was built in 1726 as a meeting place for Portuguese Jews who had settled in The Hague. The building was left abandoned after World War II before undergoing extensive restoration and reopening in 1976 at a ceremony attended by Queen Juliana, Willem-Alexander’s grandmother.
During Tuesday’s reception, children from the community sang in Hebrew and spoke with the king about their lives at school, including conversations and questions they sometimes face simply because they are Jewish.
For community members who described feeling increasingly exposed and isolated, the visit carried significance beyond royal ceremony. The king’s message was that Jewish citizens should not be expected to answer for the policies or actions of another country, and that Dutch society itself bears responsibility for ensuring they can live openly and safely.