“In the Netherlands, as elsewhere, the link between anti-Semitic violence and immigration is taboo”

Christophe de Voogd is a historian, specialist in the Netherlands: author of a History of the Netherlands (Fayard) and a note for Fondapol (think-tank) entitled “Populist victory in the Netherlands”.

LE FIGARO. – Tram burned, cars and bicycles vandalized, police officers targeted… After the anti-Semitic riots last Thursday, Amsterdam was once again the scene of an outbreak of violence last night. Are we seeing a rise in violence in this country? Since when?

Christophe DE VOOGD. – There is a pattern more or less common to all Western societies, that of an increase in violence in general. However, the Netherlands is an exception, the situation there is much more favorable on this subject than that which we know in France. There, knife attacks occur much more rarely, for example. Dutch society is historically peaceful, and political violence in particular has never been an accepted means. To make the comparison with…