Why the Dutch Prime Minister Hung a Mezuzah on His Private Home
Speaking at Amsterdam's Portuguese Synagogue, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten urged Jewish families not to leave the country and revealed he hung a Chabad-gifted mezuzah at his home.
by COLlive Reporter · COLliveBy COLlive reporter
Photos: Dutch Ministry of General Affairs
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten is putting his faith in solidarity right on his own doorstep — literally.
Amid a disturbing surge in Jew-hatred across Europe, the Dutch leader revealed on Monday night that he affixed a mezuzah to the front doorpost of his private home to send an unmistakable message that Jewish life belongs in the Netherlands.
Jetten publicly announced the decision during a speech at Amsterdam’s historic Portuguese Synagogue during a solemn ceremony marking the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht. He said he received the blue Delftware mezuzah — originally crafted for incoming Jewish university freshmen — from Rabbi Yanki Jacobs, the Shliach who heads Chabad on Campus in the Netherlands.
While fearful Dutch Jews have increasingly been taking down their mezuzahs to avoid becoming targets, Jetten said he decided to do the exact opposite.
“Apparently, fewer and fewer people are putting a mezuzah on their doorposts to avoid negative reactions,” Jetten said.
“I decided to hang this meaningful gift at home, near my front door — to show that I want to be the prime minister of a country where Jewish life is visible.”
The prime minister also issued a heartfelt plea to terrified Jewish families contemplating packing their bags and fleeing the country for good.
“I know there are people in the Jewish community considering leaving the Netherlands — people who ask themselves whether their children even have a future here,” Jetten told the gathering. “The very thought of that is very sad, and I would like to ask those people: do not give in to it. Because this is your home — the Netherlands is our shared home.”
Invoking the dark history of November 1938, when Dutch borders were slammed shut to Jews fleeing Nazi terror, as well as the horrors of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 massacre, Jetten vowed that his government is pouring extra cash into beefing up security at Jewish institutions — though he admitted cops alone can’t fix a poisoned culture.
His defiant show of support came just one day after more than 200,000 anti-Israel protesters flooded the streets of Amsterdam demanding harsher sanctions against the Jewish state — a rally Jetten notably skipped after having attended a similar demonstration a year earlier, even as his government continues to clash diplomatically with Jerusalem over its ban on imports from Israeli settlements.
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