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Thehistory of the Jews in Amsterdam focuses on the historical center of theDutch Jewish community, comprising bothPortuguese Jews originally from both Spain and Portugal andAshkenazi Jews, originally from central Europe. The two separate groups have had a continuing presence since the seventeenth century.[1]Amsterdam has been called aJerusalem of the West and the "Dutch Jerusalem".[2]The Holocaust in the Netherlands devastated the Jewish community, with the Nazis murdering over 80% of Amsterdam's 79,000 Jews,[3] but the community has managed to rebuild a vibrant and living Jewish life for its approximately 15,000 present members.[4]
At the end of the sixteenth century and beginning of the seventeenth, Portuguese Jews began settling in Amsterdam. They self identified not as Sephardic Jews or Sephardim,[5] but rather "Jews of the Hebrew Nation".[6]Conversos, Jews forcibly or otherwise converted to Christianity, arrived from Spain and Portugal. Some were sincere Christian converts who now wished to embrace the religion of their ancestors while other werecrypto-Jews, Jews outwardly Christian but who continued practicing Judaism privately. With the creation of theSpanish Inquisition in 1478 to monitor Jewish converts to Christianity and the 1492Alhambra Decree, mandating conversion to Christianity or expulsion for Spanish Jews, many migrated to theKingdom of Portugal. In 1497, the Portuguese monarch forced the conversion of Jews to Christianity, but also prohibited their leaving the kingdom. However, theInquisition there was not established until 1536. After 1536, PortugueseNew Christians, used to de facto permission to practice Judaism privately so long as they were outwardly Christian, now came under scrutiny. Restrictions on their leaving Portugal were eased and some sought economic opportunities inAntwerp and in Amsterdam in the northernSpanish Netherlands, which had revolted against Habsburg rule. The newly independentDutch provinces provided an ideal opportunity for these Portuguese New Christians, many of whom had been practicing Judaism privately, to establish themselves as a community in an increasingly thriving economy and to practice Judaism more openly.
Collectively, they brought economic growth and influence to the city as they established an international trading hub in Amsterdam during the 17th century, the so-calledDutch Golden Age. Perhaps the most notable example of Sephardic Jews in Amsterdam are theCuriel family, namely Jeromino Nunes da Costa (aliasMoses Curiel),[7] son ofJacob Curiel.[8] Curiel was the single largest financial contributor to the building of thePortuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam.[9]
In 1593,Marrano Jews arrived in Amsterdam after having been refused admission to Middelburg and Haarlem. TheseConverso were important merchants, and men of great ability. Their expertise contributed materially to the prosperity of the Netherlands. They became strenuous supporters of the contenderHouse of Orange and were in return protected by theStadholder. At this time, commerce in Holland was increasing; a period of development had arrived, particularly for Amsterdam, to which Jews had carried their goods and from which they maintained their relations with foreign lands. Quite new for the Netherlands, they also held connections with theLevant,Morocco and the Caribbean Antilles.
The formal independence from Spain of the Dutch Republic, by theAct of Abjuration, theoretically permitted their openly practice of Judaism. In 1602Moses Uri HaLevi arrived in the city. In 1614 the change came through a diktat from the States of Holland.[10] Soon many Jews settled atVlooienburg. There were three struggling congregations which merged toTalmud Torah, a united Sephardic congregation when in 1638 a reconciliation was achieved. One synagogue was sold, one remained in existence and the third continued to be used as a schoolroom.[11]Spinoza's father was aparnassim and the school was located in the adjacent house atHoutgracht.
The firstAshkenazim, Jews from Central and Eastern Europe, who arrived inAmsterdam were refugees from theChmielnicki Uprising inPoland and theThirty Years War. Their numbers soon swelled, eventually outnumbering the Sephardic Jews at the end of the 17th century; by 1674, some 5,000 Ashkenazi Jews were living in Amsterdam, while 2,500 Sephardic Jews called Amsterdam their home.[12] Many of the new Ashkenazi immigrants were poor, contrary to their relatively wealthy Sephardic co-religionists. They were only allowed in Amsterdam because of the financial aid promised to them and other guarantees given to the Amsterdam city council by the Sephardic community, despite the religious and cultural differences between theYiddish-speaking Ashkenazim and thePortuguese-speaking Sephardim.
Only in 1671 did the large Ashkenazi community inaugurate their own synagogue, the Great Synagogue,[13] which stood opposite to theSephardic Esnoga Synagogue.[14] Soon after, several other synagogues were built, among them the Obbene Shul[15] (1685-1686), the Dritt Shul[16] (1700) and the Neie Shul[17] (1752, also known as the New Synagogue). For a long time, the Ashkenazi community was strongly focused on Central and Eastern Europe, the region where most of the Dutch Ashkenazi originated from. Rabbis,cantors and teachers hailed from Poland and Germany. Up until the 19th century, most of the Ashkenazi Jews spokeYiddish, with someDutch influences. Meanwhile, the community grew and flourished. At the end of the 18th century, the 20,000-strong Ashkenazi community was one of the largest in Western and Central Europe.[12]
Occupation of Amsterdam by Nazi Germany began 10 May 1940.[18] Amsterdam, the largest city in the Netherlands,[19] had an estimated 75–80,000 Jews, approximately 53–57% of the country's Jewish population.[20][21] Among them was the German Jewish family ofAnne Frank.
Approximately 25–35,000 of the Dutch Jews were refugees.[22][23] but most of these were not in Amsterdam.[24]
Although less than 10 percent of Amsterdam's population was Jewish, there were two seemingly contradictory outcomes:
Part of the Nazi action plan included consolidating the Dutch Jewish population into Amsterdam, prior to the "Final Solution."[19] Canadian Forces liberated Amsterdam in early 1945.
Six of Amsterdam's mayors were Jewish.Job Cohen was runner-up for the award ofWorld Mayor in 2006.[28][29]
In 1964Adje Cohen began Jewish classes with five children in his home. This grew into anOrthodox Jewish school (Yeshiva) that provides education for children from kindergarten through high school. Many Orthodox families would have leftThe Netherlands if not for the existence of the Cheider[citation needed]: Boys and girls learn separately as orthodox Judaism requires, and the education is with a greater focus on the religious needs. By 1993 the Cheider had grown to over 230 pupils and 60 Staff members. The Cheider moved into its current building at Zeeland Street inAmsterdamBuitenveldert. Many prominentDutch Figures attended the opening, most noteworthy wasPrincess Margriet who opened the new building.[30][31]
Most of the Amsterdam Jewish community (excluding the Progressive and Sephardic communities) is affiliated to theAshkenaziNederlands Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap. These congregations combined form the Nederlands-Israëlietische Hoofdsynagoge (NIHS) (the Dutch acronym for the Jewish Community of Amsterdam). Some 3,000 Jews are formally part of the NIHS.[1] TheProgressive movement currently has some 1,700 Jewish members in Amsterdam, affiliated to theNederlands Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom. Smaller Jewish communities include the SephardicPortugees-Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap (270 families in and out of Amsterdam) andBeit Ha'Chidush, a community of some 200 members and 'friends' connected toJewish Renewal andReconstructionist Judaism. Several independent synagogues exist as well.[32] The glossy Joods Jaarboek (Jewish Yearbook), is based in Amsterdam, as well as the weekly Dutch Jewish newspaper in print: theNieuw Israëlitisch Weekblad.
There are functioning synagogues in Amsterdam at the following addresses.
Kosher food is available in Amsterdam restaurants and shops.[40] There is the possibility of eating kosher in Restaurant Ha-Carmel,[41] and the well-known Sandwichshop Sal-Meijer.[42]
TheJoods Historisch Museum[43] is the center of Jewish culture in Amsterdam. Other Jewish cultural events include the Internationaal Joods Muziekfestival (International Jewish Music Festival)[44] and the Joods Film Festival (Jewish Film Festival).[45]
TheAnne Frank House hosts a permanent exhibit on the story ofAnne Frank.
Six Jewish cemeteries exist in Amsterdam and surroundings, threeOrthodoxAshkenazi (affiliated to theNIK), two linked to theProgressive community and one Sephardic. The Ashkenazi cemetery[46] atMuiderberg is still frequently used by the Orthodox Jewish community. The Orthodox Ashkenazi cemetery[47][better source needed] atZeeburg, founded in 1714, was the burial ground for some 100,000 Jews between 1714 and 1942. After part of the ground of the cemetery was sold in 1956, many graves were transported to the Orthodox Ashkenazi Jewish cemetery[48] nearDiemen (also still in use, but less frequent than the one in Muiderberg). A Sephardic cemetery, Beth Haim,[49] exists near the small town ofOuderkerk aan de Amstel, containing the graves of some 28,000 Sephardic Jews. Two Progressive cemeteries, one[50] inHoofddorp (founded in 1937) and one[50] inAmstelveen (founded in 2002), are used by the large Progressive community.
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