Bullets strike Amsterdam mental health clinic run by Jewish community

Dutch Police on Wednesday found two bullet holes from a shooting aimed at a mental health clinic run by the Amsterdam Jewish community, in what may be a further escalation in anti-Semitic attacks in the Netherlands since Israel launched an operation in Gaza in December.

Staff from the Sinai Jewish center in Amstelveen near the Dutch capital called police after noticing what appeared to be gunshot holes in a window adjacent to the main entrance door. No one was hurt in the shooting and no witnesses have come forward so far.

"Police are playing down this incident, which is fairly usual on their part with this sort of thing," Ronny Naftaniel, head of Holland's largest pro-Zionist organization, told Haaretz. "They're saying they don't know whether this attack was aimed against the Jewish community."

Naftaniel, who heads the Center for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI), heard about the incident while attending the Herzliya Conference in Israel. "The incident happened at night, and apparently there were no witnesses but there can be little doubt that this is another attack [against Jewish institutions]," he said.

Wim Kortenoeven, a researcher in the hague-based CIDI, said about the incident: "We are entering a new stage in the war against the Jews here. When people actually use firearms against the Jewish community, it is an escalation."

Since Israel began Operation Cast Lead in December 27, CIDI has counted six violent incidents against Jewish institutions and buildings, including the shooting. The first was aimed against the liberal synagogue in Haaksbergen, where assailants threw stones at the windows.

The second incident was an attempted arson against a Jewish institution in Arnhem, followed by a Molotov cocktail which assailants hurled at an Amsterdam Jewish-owned building. Later on, another Jewish-owned building was pelted with stones in Oss.

"The police usually say they're not sure about the reason for the attack and that they are investigating," Naftaniel said.

He nonetheless added that over the past month, police have been quick to intervene at anti-Israel demonstrations. "In several occasions they stepped in to detain people who carried hate-inciting signs and posters, and confiscated those placards," he said.