There are lines in an interview that strike a deep chord. They expose a reality we would rather not face – too awful for words. In the interview, Ernst Jehoeda uses one such line: “What Hitler failed to accomplish, this society might yet succeed in doing, meaning that more and more Jewish young people will leave.” A Netherlands without a (visible) Jewish community… Unimaginable! Truly unimaginable?
On Wednesday, 12 March 2025, you and your wife attended a lecture by the Lebanese-German journalist/activist Rawan Osman at Maastricht University. Masked pro-Palestinian individuals, however, created an atmosphere of extreme intimidation that left you both feeling “naked and unprotected.”
Did you also bring these unprecedented feelings of insecurity to the attention of the university and municipal authorities? And if so, what was their response?
Ernst Jehoeda: The very next day I sent an email straight to the mayor. I told him the following: The event organized by the Jewish students of Maastricht University together with StandWithUs, with guest speaker Rawan Osman, got out of hand yesterday and was cut short. The sabotaging of this event touches on our fundamental rights. Because I knew how the meeting in Nijmegen had gone the day before, I had briefed the police thoroughly about the risks. In my opinion it was irresponsible that this demonstration was allowed to take place so close to the building where the lecture was being held. It’s truly a wonder that no windows were smashed. The demonstrators who were inside the building and terrorized the event from within were removed with kid gloves. In the end, the attendees had to leave the building through a gauntlet of masked protesters shouting abuse at them. The comparison with the opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam is not far-fetched. It was a threatening situation. A counter-protest is fine, but only at an appropriate distance, so that the lecture could have proceeded undisturbed.
So far I have only received a brief response that the municipal authorities will investigate the matter. Together with Dr. Eli Sapir, a lecturer at Maastricht University, we also laid out our concerns in a detailed letter to the Maastricht municipal executive. Questions have been raised in the city council by, among others, the VVD. The response from the city authorities is not yet known to me. Additionally, I sent a letter to the president of the University’s Executive Board. So far I have only received an acknowledgment of receipt.
In the meantime, I’ve heard that the university is going to launch an investigation. An external investigator is to be hired for this. Although I don’t know the investigator, I’ve heard through the grapevine that others don’t have much confidence in this person. That makes me worry about whether it will be an objective investigation. Apparently we have no influence on the choice of investigator, even though I explicitly requested that. It will mainly be an investigation about us, not withus. I know these kinds of investigations. Generally, they are primarily intended to sweep administrators’ failures under the rug. Perhaps I’m being negative, and I would indeed be pleasantly surprised if it turns out otherwise. The fact that universities have already for a year and a half provided no adequate protection to Jewish students only reinforces my skepticism.
Are you and your wife still feeling any aftereffects from the appalling events that took place on that evening of 12 March?
Ernst Jehoeda: We are pretty down-to-earth people. That evening no longer troubles us. During the demonstration it did stir up all kinds of feelings, ranging from aggression and anger to even some fear that it could have ended worse. I vent my frustration by writing. See my article in De Vrijdagavond, a Jewish online magazine: https://devrijdagavond.com/2025/03/18/opinie/we-voelden-ons-naakt-en-onbeschermd-tijdens-de-lezing-van-rawan-osman-op-de-universiteit-van-maastricht/
Did you also receive any expressions of support?
Ernst Jehoeda: The only sympathy we received was from the European Jewish Association (EJA). They are taking the incident very seriously. In addition, the community police officer called me and acknowledged that it had not been handled well. It was nice that he reached out. Without an explicit order from the local “triangle” (mayor, police, and prosecutor), the police’s hands are tied as well.
Did the media (including Maastricht’s university press) report on it adequately?
Ernst Jehoeda: It was reported in various media that Rawan Osman’s lecture was stopped — often, however, in conjunction with the Nijmegen incident. The question of whether the authorities dropped the ball was, as far as I know, not or barely raised. One exception was De Nieuwe Ster, an online newspaper in Maastricht: https://www.denieuwestermaastricht.nl/met-free-palestine-activisten-is-geen-debat-te-voeren/
Moreover, Observant, the university’s newspaper, devoted attention to the issue:
As the chairman of the Jewish community in Limburg, you wanted to be present at Ms. Osman’s lecture to show support to the Jewish/Israeli students.
Undoubtedly you were in contact with them after the disruption and cancellation of the lecture. How did they experience it?
Ernst Jehoeda: The students – and also the Israeli lecturers – were shocked that this could happen so easily in the Netherlands. Naturally, we try by all means to hold the authorities accountable for their failing policies. As a small group, you’re dealing with a hydra-headed monster that cannot be easily defeated. With support from external parties, we still hope to get our message across.
As I mentioned earlier, I don’t expect a great deal of self-reflection from the authorities. Examples of weak-kneed behavior are everywhere in the Netherlands. The University of Amsterdam and Radboud University in Nijmegen refuse to act against anti-Semitism and even vandalism. Administrators who sit down at the table with masked protesters (at the UvA) – it could be a comedian’s skit. How low have you sunk as an administrator if you accept this? It’s beyond absurd that Free Palestine Maastricht (FPM) is given a room at the university to prepare their vile actions! They undoubtedly have some convenient cover that serves to justify being given that space.
In both the Netherlands and Germany, our editorial team is hearing reports of Israeli students who can no longer endure the surrounding Jew-hatred and therefore are also announcing their departure. A shocking situation! Are you hearing similar accounts from Israeli students in Maastricht?
Ernst Jehoeda: I haven’t heard that yet, but I do expect that fewer Jewish students will come to Maastricht if the authorities’ policies aren’t drastically adjusted. In my opinion, it’s indefensible that foreign students come here and try to make life impossible for Jewish students. As far as I’m concerned, their student visa and access to the university should be revoked, and they should be expelled back to their country of origin.
The right to demonstrate is a great good, but if that leads to the erosion of others’ rights, then the government must enforce the law. The problem is that the government and administrators have already let things get way out of hand in the Netherlands. It will be difficult to get this situation back under control. In that light, I think the Netherlands is becoming less and less attractive for Jewish students and lecturers. And that’s not even mentioning the severing of ties with Israeli universities.
Surely the city of Maastricht and Maastricht University must do everything to ensure the well-being and welfare of the small Jewish community. After all, no one – at least by their own account – wants to be seen as anti-Semitic. Indeed, ultimately this is about the rule of law in the Netherlands, the upholding of our constitution.
However, what urban and academic reality do you grapple with on a daily basis? And above all: in your opinion, which measures are urgently needed right now for a civilized society in Maastricht – indeed, in the Netherlands?
Ernst Jehoeda: I’ve already given some of my answers to that earlier. A society that tolerates anti-Semitism and mainly looks to committees and reports to address it will not solve this problem. If no exemplary measures are taken – as in the US, where troublemakers are deported – nothing will change. The road is paved with fine promises and good intentions, but only enforcing minorities’ freedoms and their safety shows that you are truly willing to protect a small group of Jews here. I think if things continue like this, then the young people will certainly leave. What Hitler could not accomplish, this society might yet succeed in doing – meaning that more and more Jewish young people will leave.
Given the continued demonization of the Jewish state and thereby also of the Jewish community in our country, and given the largely ongoing passivity of the various authorities and the problematic law enforcement when it comes to anti-Semitic incidents, the question arises: isn’t it high time for a genuine citizens’ platform against anti-Semitism, a pooling of societal forces against the rampant Jew-hatred? What do you think? After all, a decent society can hardly leave the fight against anti-Semitism purely to meetings in The Hague or other such consultations by third parties, can it? That would save millions of euros again, and no one – Jew or non-Jew – is helped by photo ops!
Ernst Jehoeda: As I said before, I don’t believe in yet another approach via platforms or committees. The fact remains that latent anti-Semitism always was, is, and always will be there. It’s like a peat fire: it smolders underground for a long time, but when a conflict involving Israel arises, it flares up into a blaze that’s hard to control.
If there are parties in parliament – for example, Denk, and also parts of GroenLinks – that openly spread anti-Semitism, nothing will change. Frans Timmermans came to our synagogue with an empathetic speech, but meanwhile he is the leader of an anti-Semitic GroenLinks faction in his party.
In the past, anti-Semitism was because we supposedly killed Jesus; later it was because we were communists or, conversely, capitalists; and now it’s because we are Zionists. Let me be absolutely clear: all the old anti-Semitic myths are being recycled and replaced by new ones. Whatever name one comes up with, it’s still just plain, vulgar anti-Semitism.
The writer Amos Oz once said: “In the 1930s the anti-Semites shouted: ‘Jews to Palestine.’ Nowadays they shout: ‘Jews out of Palestine.’ Anti-Semites don’t want us to be here; they don’t want us to be there; they don’t want us to be at all.”
It is only being strengthened by changes in the composition of society. I also refer to Jan Latten’s article in De Telegraaf, in which he rightly voices concern about the freedom of Dutch society due to demographic changes. In that respect, I have a pessimistic outlook.
As always, Jews – with a small group of true friends – are left to fend for themselves. We will have to take matters into our own hands and not pin our hopes on the authorities’ fine promises. As I sometimes say cynically: many people are still interested in dead Jews, but not in living Jews (see Stolpersteine and monuments), although the anti-Semites nowadays don’t even leave the monuments alone.
You can also read this blog in Dutch and in Hebrew (translated by Elyiahu V. Sapir).
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