Explosion lightly damages Jewish school in Amsterdam

An explosion lightly damaged a Jewish school in Amsterdam early on Saturday, in what the city's mayor described as "a deliberate attack against the Jewish community".

The explosion at the school in ‌an upscale ⁠residential neighbourhood ⁠on the south side of Amsterdam damaged a rainpipe and charred ​an outer wall, and caused no injuries.

Mayor Femke Halsema said the ​incident was taken very seriously, and would lead to increased security at Jewish institutions.


"This is a cowardly act ​of aggression against the Jewish community," Halsema ⁠said.

"Jewish people ‌in Amsterdam are increasingly confronted with antisemitism. ​This is ​unacceptable."

The school is the only one ⁠specifically for orthodox Jews in the Netherlands, and ​is largely fenced off by a pointed, ​metal outer wall due to earlier threats.

Security at synagogues and Jewish institutions in the Dutch capital had already been heightened after an overnight arson attack at a synagogue in the centre of Rotterdam on Friday.

In ‌neighbouring Belgium, an explosion caused a fire at a synagogue in Liege on Monday.

Dutch Prime ​Minister Rob ​Jetten called the ⁠attack in Amsterdam "horrible" and said it understandably caused "fear and anger" in the Jewish community.

"The safety of Jewish institutions has our ​full attention," he said in a post on X.

Concerns about possible attacks against Jewish communities around the world have risen following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and a subsequent response from Tehran.