Nederlands Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap
Encyclopedia
The Nederlands-Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap (Dutch Israelite Religious Community) (NIK) is the umbrella organisation for most Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 communities in the Netherlands, and is Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 in nature, while to be described as traditional in outlook. The expression Orthodox, is for the Dutch situation at least, of a later date than the existence of the congregations that make up the NIK and the NIK itself. The Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

 of the NIK is Rabbi Dr. Raphael Evers
Raphael Evers
Raphael Evers is the Rabbi of Rotterdam and an authoritative Jewish spokesman in the Netherlands.-Family:Evers grew up in Amsterdam-West. His father was Hans Evers. His mother, Bloeme Evers-Emden , is a Dutch Jew who was deported from Westerbork to Auschwitz in September 1944 on the same train as...

. On total, the NIK has some 20 rabbis actively working in 36 congegrations throughout the country, serving some 5,000 Jews.

History

The NIK was founded in 1814 under the reign of Willem I, although the first steps towards a central organisation of Jewish communities in the Netherlands (which was the initial purpose of the NIK) were already taken in 1808, under command of Napoleon. The NIK were to form an umbrella over the existing Jewish communities. The NIK and its member-congregations maintained the traditional view on Judaism as it had been ever since and kept on going along this line, till today. Both the Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...

 and Sephardic communities were included. The newly-found umbrella organisation had a clear hierarchical design: the Jewish communities were governed on a local level by twelve so-called large "hoofdsynagogen" (lit.: head synagogues), which had the power over the medium-sized synagogues (communities), which themselves had power over the smallest synagogues (called "bijkerken", like small Jewish communities on the Dutch countryside). Of the twelve "hoofdsynagogen", two were located in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 (Ashkenazi and Sephardic), two in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

 (Ashkenazi and Sephardic), and one each in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

, Amersfoort
Amersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...

, Middelburg
Middelburg
Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...

, Den Bosch, Nijmegen, Zwolle
Zwolle
Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...

, Leeuwarden and Groningen (all Ashkenazi, at that time called "Hoogduits", lit. "High German"). Two years later, another two were included: one in Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

, and one in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 (at that time Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 was part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands).

This form of structuring the Jewish community in the Netherlands gave a lot of power to the (chief) rabbis, as they were given the power to govern the entire community. With the new constitution in 1848 however, things changed. In its first step to a fully secular state, the government decided towards a separation of Church and State. This banned rabbis from any administrative role whatsoever.

1871 saw new regulations for the organisation. The Sephardic communities left the NIK to form the Portugees-Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap
Portugees-Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap
The Portugees-Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap is the community for Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands. Sephardic Jews have been living in the Netherlands since the 16th century with the forced relocation of Spanish but above all Portuguese Jews from their home countries due to the Inquisition...

, gaining full independence within the Jewish community again as they had had in the centuries preceding the NIK. The NIK became thus fully Askhenazi.

The NIK saw its height in 1877, when it administered over some 176 Jewish communities throughout the Netherlands. The following decades however saw a steady decline, administrating 139 communities at the eve of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The Holocaust destroyed most of the congregations, as at least 105,000 on a total of 140,000 Dutch Jews were killed by the Nazis between 1940 and 1945.

Today

The NIK has some 20 rabbis governing some 36 Jewish communities or some 5,000 Jews and giving chaplaincy in the armed forces and to Jewish inmates. This makes them the largest Jewish religious organisation in the Netherlands. The NIK follows the rules of Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

, meaning among other things a separation between men and women during religious services and only accepting members who are halakhically
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

 Jewish. Despite the fact that the NIK follows the rules of Orthodox Judaism, most members do not consider themselves to be Orthodox Jews; thus making the NIK an organisation with a traditional Jewish outlook.

Main rabbi for the NIK is Rabbi Dr. Raphael Evers, who serves by large as the face of the organisation in the media, representing the Jewish voice and opinion.

Along with the larger Jewish communities, the NIK is responsible for supervising whether the rules for kashrut
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...

 are followed, as well as the mikvaot
Mikvah
Mikveh is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism...

 (ritual baths), the upkeep of some two-hundred Jewish cemeteries in the Netherlands (on a national total of two-hundred-and-fifty) and (Orthodox) conversions to Judaism by non-Jews. The NIK also functions as a Jewish bookpublisher for the rather small Dutch language, bringing a variety of books with Jewish content to the Dutch-reading public, a.o. translated Torah, prayerbooks, part of the Mishna, Kitsur Shulchan Aruch, manuals for Jewish daily life and a successful structured plan for Jewish education to children from 4 years old and on to over 13 years.
Part of the NIK is the Nederlands Israëlietisch Seminarium, the Jewish seminary, a state recognized educational institution, which educates for Jewish teacher and rabbi.
Four times a year the NIK publishes Hakehillot, a magazine for the Jews in the Netherlands, whilst it maintains a weekly updated newssite and e-letter too.

Congregations

Congregations are called Nederlands Israëlietische Gemeente (NIG) or Joodse Gemeente. They exist in the following places:
  • Aalten
    Aalten
    Aalten is a municipality and a village in the eastern Netherlands. The former municipalities of Bredevoort and Dinxperlo have been merged with Aalten....

    . The once lively Jewish community of the small town of Aalten numbered more than 100 Jews around 1840. In the following decades, the number of Jews declined to some 70 at the eve of World War II. Around half of the Jewish community perished during the Holocaust. After the war, some 46 Jews returned to the small town, but eventually, many emigrated, either to the larger Jewish communities still functioning in the Netherlands (like Amsterdam), or to countries like the United States of America and Israel. Although the community still exists, the Jewish community in Aalten has only some ten members at the moment and thus has a hard time getting enough men to hold services (ten Jewish men required). An article concerning the synagogue in Aalten.
  • Alkmaar
    Alkmaar
    Alkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Noord Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination.-History:...

    . The Jewish community in Alkmaar numbers some 70 people, down from some 200 in the 1930s. It celebrated its 400th-year anniversary on May 9, 2004.
  • Almere
    Almere
    Almere is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, the Netherlands, bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde. The municipality of Almere comprises the districts Almere Stad, Almere Haven, Almere Buiten, Almere Hout, Almere Poort and Almere Pampus .Almere is the youngest city in the...

    . The NIG Almere was founded on January 5, 1997, making it the youngest NIK-Jewish community in the country. Rabbi for the community is rabbi Moshe Stiefel, who also has plans to start a community in Lelystad
    Lelystad
    Lelystad is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands, and it is the capital of the province of Flevoland. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered the Afsluitdijk, making the reclamation possible...

    , the capital of Flevoland
    Flevoland
    Flevoland is a province of the Netherlands. Located in the centre of the country, at the location of the former Zuiderzee, the province was established on January 1, 1986; the twelfth province of the country, with Lelystad as its capital...

     province. Because of its proximity to Amsterdam, with more than 15,000 Jews the center of Jewish life in the Netherlands, Jewish Almere is steadily growing. A Jewish cemetery for the community was inaugurated in January 2004.
  • Amersfoort
    Amersfoort
    Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...

    . The Jewish community in Amersfoort is currently one of the biggest outside of Amsterdam. Jewish life in Amersfoort started in the 17th century when Sephardic Jews settled inside the city. At the beginning of the 18th century they were joined by Ashkenazi Jews
    Ashkenazi Jews
    Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...

    . The community grew to some 400 members in 1930. A large number of them managed to go into hiding at the beginning of the Second World War. The community was re-established in 1945, and had some 200-250 members in the first two decades after the war, diminishing to some 130 at the end of the 20th century. Nevertheless the community still thrives. Amersfoort is the residence of rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, who serves as the main religious leader for the Jewish communities outside of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Leiden. Amersfoort is also home to the Sinai Center for Jewish Mental Health.
  • Amsterdam
    Amsterdam
    Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

    . See for more information the article concerning Jewish Amsterdam
    Jewish Amsterdam
    Amsterdam has historically been the center of the Dutch Jewish community, and has had a continuing Jewish community for the last 370 years. Amsterdam is also known under the name "Mokum", given to the city by its Jewish inhabitants...

    .
  • Breda
    Breda
    Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...

    . The Jewish community in Breda numbers some 60 members, spread over the western part of the province of Noord-Brabant. Jewish life officially started in 1803, and grew fast, numbering 230 persons in 1840 and 284 in 1899. This eventually declined to 181 persons in 1930. Approximately one of three Breda Jews survived the Holocaust. Jewish life restarted again after the war, and now Breda still boosts a lifely community, which has its own library and magazine.
  • Bussum
    Bussum
    Bussum is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.-History:Bussum was first mentioned in 1306. In this time, Bussum was a large heathland with many small farms, sheep pens and forests as is shown on old maps. Since Bussum is situated near the fortified town...

    . It was only in the beginning of the 20th century that Bussum saw the rise of a Jewish community. Religious services were first held in Bussum in 1911. The community grew strong in the years following, reaching 341 members in 1930. After that the community grew even more due to the influx of dozens of German-Jewish refugees. Approximately half of the Jews in Bussum were killed in the Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War. After the war Jewish life was restored and managed to flourish, with more than 200 persons part of the community up until the 1970s. This number diminished slightly to some 150 members at the eve of the 21st century, making it one of the bigger Jewish communities in the Netherlands outside of Amsterdam (home to 15,000 Jews).
  • Den Bosch. The 13th and 14th centuries saw the first accounts of Jews settleing in Den Bosch. The community grew after the emancipation degrees
    Jewish Emancipation
    Jewish emancipation was the external and internal process of freeing the Jewish people of Europe, including recognition of their rights as equal citizens, and the formal granting of citizenship as individuals; it occurred gradually between the late 18th century and the early 20th century...

     which equalized the position of Jews within Dutch society. There were some 500 Jews living in Den Bosch at the beginning of the Second World War; 200 of them managed to survive. Jewish life continued after the war, but weekly services stopped in the 1970s due to the declining number of community members. Services on the High Holy Days
    High Holy Days
    The High Holidays or High Holy Days, in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim , may mean:#strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ;...

     are still held.
  • Deventer
    Deventer
    Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...

    . See for more information the section on Zutphen (see below).
  • Doetinchem
    Doetinchem
    Doetinchem is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the Oude IJssel river in a part of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek . The municipality has 56,700 inhabitants and has an area of 79.66 km²...

    . The first Jews settled in Doetinchem
    Doetinchem
    Doetinchem is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the Oude IJssel river in a part of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek . The municipality has 56,700 inhabitants and has an area of 79.66 km²...

     during the 17th century. The community reached a high around 1900, when some 260 Jews were living in this Gelderland
    Gelderland
    Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...

     town. There were some 160 Jews living in Doetinchem in the 1930s. A few dozen Doetinchem Jews managed to survive the Second World War by going into hiding; the rest was murdered in the Nazi concentration camps. After the war several Jewish communities were merged with the one in Doetinchem to become the NIG De Achterhoek , the Achterhoek
    Achterhoek
    The Achterhoek is a region in the eastern part of the Netherlands, Europe.Its name is geographically appropriate because the area lies in the Eastern-most part of Gelderland, and therefore of the Netherlands, protruding into Germany...

     being the name for the region where Doetinchem is part of. From right after the Holocaust there is no synagogue in Doetinchem anymore.
  • Eindhoven. See for more information the article concerning Jewish Eindhoven
    Jewish Eindhoven
    Eindhoven is a municipality and a city located in the province of Noord-Brabant in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender brooks...

    .


  • Emmen. The synagogue in Emmen currently functions as the place of worship for the NIG Drenthe, the kehilla for Drenthe
    Drenthe
    Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...

     province. Emmen had some 180 Jewish inhabitants in 1930, of which several dozen managed to survive. The Jewish communities of Assen
    Assen
    Assen is a municipality and a city in the north eastern Netherlands, capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809. Assen's main claim to fame is the TT Circuit Assen the motorcycle racing circuit, where on the last Saturday in June the Dutch TT is run...

    , Emmen and Hoogeveen
    Hoogeveen
    Hoogeveen is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands.- Population centres :Elim, Fluitenberg, Hoogeveen and Noordscheschut, which still have the canals which used to be throughout the town...

     merged together in 1988 to form the NIG Drenthe.
  • Enschede. The 17th century saw the first arrival of Jews in Enschede
    Enschede
    Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...

    . The community grew due to the existence of industry in and around the city, and there were more than 1,400 Jews living in the city in 1941. Although the community was hit hard during the war, 395 Jews were still left in or returned to the city in June 1945. The first few years saw a strong Jewish community of some 300 persons resurfacing in the city. However, due to migration, aging, assimilation and secularization, the community dwindled to some 70 members in 2006. The NIG communities in Hengelo
    Hengelo
    Hengelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the International Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service.-Traffic and transport:...

     and Almelo
    Almelo
    Almelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie and Bornerbroek....

     merged with the NIG community in Enschede in June 2006 to form the NIG Twente, Twente
    Twente
    Twente is a non-administrative region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel...

     being the region around Enschede. August 2007 saw the appointment of a new rabbi within the community, rabbi Eliahoe Aharon Philipson, after rabbi Dov I. Salzmann, the previous rabbi, being the first post-Holocaust rabbi, retired and returned to his hometown Rehovot in Israel.
  • Groningen
  • Haarlem
    Haarlem
    Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...

    . Since the end of the 20th century being led by the dynamic rabbi Shmuel Spiero and since then one of the faster growing communities.
  • Hilversum
    Hilversum
    is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...

    . Jewish life in Hilversum dates back to the beginning of the 18th century. There soon existed a flourishing community, which would number some 1,000 members in the 1930s. This increased to some 1,400 during the first year of the Second World War, when German-Jewish refugees in the Netherlands were forcibly resettled in Hilversum as well as other towns and cities throughout the country. Hilversum was hit hard by the Holocaust: no more than 10% of its Jewish inhabitants survived the war. Despite that, Jewish life in Hilversum flourished in the 1950s and 1960s, with some 200 Jews attending synagogue and participating in the Hilversum kehillah. After that however, numbers dwindled. In 1990 the Rabbinate for the rural communities (IPOR) settled in Hilversum. There are currently plans underway to merge the Hilversum community with the one in Bussum
    Bussum
    Bussum is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.-History:Bussum was first mentioned in 1306. In this time, Bussum was a large heathland with many small farms, sheep pens and forests as is shown on old maps. Since Bussum is situated near the fortified town...

    .
  • Leeuwarden. Jewish life in Leeuwarden flourished in the second part of the 19th century, when the community numbered some 1,200 persons. This declined to 750 in the 1930s. The Holocaust saw the destruction of the once vibrant community. In 1951 the community had some 139 members; nowadays some 50 people are part of the congregation. In 1980 new synagogue was inaugurated in the former rabbi's residence, after the pre-war synagogue proved to be too big for the declining community. In the beginning of the 21st century the local community managed to hold a weekly course in Talmud.
  • Leiden. Having the oldest university
    Leiden University
    Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...

     in the Netherlands, Leiden has for a long time attracted a large number of students, including many Jews. In the 17th and 18th century, most of them were of Sefardic origin; later on, the community became predominantely Ashkenazi. The community saw its height in the middle of the 19th century, numbering more than 500 persons. In 1930 the community had declined to some 340 persons. The Holocaust severely affected Jewish life in Leiden, but did not destroy it. In 1998, some 100 persons were part of the NIG Leiden . Among them is a large number of (non-Dutch) students. Leiden is also the home of the Joods Studiecentrum (Jewish Center of Learning) , established in 1983 to accommodate the growing interest in the Netherlands among Jews and non-Jews in learning more about Judaism.
  • Maastricht
    Maastricht
    Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

    . The congregation in Maastricht is led by rabbi Yaakov Y. Schapiro, an American, affiliated to the Chabad
    Chabad
    Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...

     movement. The community was formed in the 1980s when several communities throughout the province of Limburg
    Limburg (Netherlands)
    Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...

     joined together to form one congregation in Maastricht. Shabbath services are held on a weekly basis. Kosher food in Maastricht is available since the rabbi's arrival.
  • Middelburg
    Middelburg
    Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...

    . The NIG congregation in Middelburg is part of a congregation which compromises the entire province of Zeeland
    Zeeland
    Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...

    . It numbers some 40 active members, most of them concentrated around Middelburg and Vlissingen. The Holocaust saw the destruction of the old Jewish community of Middelburg, but eventually, after 50 years, a new synagogue was inaugurated in November 1994. On June 30, 2004, a Jewish marriage held place at the synagogue, the first one in Middelburg since the start of World War II
    World War II
    World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

     in 1940. More information on NIG Zeeland.
  • Nijmegen. The Jewish community in Nijmegen was once the biggest and oldest Jewish community in the Netherlands, already in existence in the first part of the 14th century. The community was destroyed in 1349 after accusations that Jews had spread the Black Plague, but several Jews resettled in the town again already in 1386. This community lasted some 100 years. At the beginning of the 17th century Jewish life was again established. The community grew to some 530 persons in 1940. In the five years following however, the community was largely destroyed by the Nazis. This didn't prevent the survivors to restart the community again after the war had ended. In 2000, the community returned to its original 17th century synagogue and left the 19th century building adjacent to what was once the synagogue. The Jewish community is growing since the move to the ancient synagogue, attracting new interested Jewish people. It holds services and all kind of cultural, social and religious events.
  • Oss
    Oss
    Oss is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands, in the province of Noord Brabant.- Population centres :-Transportation:* Railway stations: Oss, Oss West, Ravenstein- The city of Oss :...

    . The Jewish community in Oss experienced its height in the 1930s, when the community consisted of almost 300 people. The Holocaust however had a devastating effect, with most of the Jewish community being deported to the Nazi concentration camps in 1942. Nowadays, the number of Jews in Oss is estimated at some 30 persons. Founders of some of today's well known companies belonged to the Jewish community in Oss; like Unilever, Bergos, AKZO, Organon.


  • Rotterdam
    Rotterdam
    Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

    . The history of the Jewish community in Rotterdam starts in the beginning of the 17th century, with the arrival of several Sephardic
    Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands
    As a result of the Inquisition, many Sephardim left the Iberian peninsula at the end of the 15th century and throughout the 16th century, in search for religious freedom. Some of them found their way to the newly independent Dutch provinces: independent from the reign of Spain, Sephardic Jews from...

     traders settling in this port city. The community grows slowly. From 1650 onwards, several Ashkenazi Jews, fleeing persecution in Poland and Germany, also settle in Rotterdam. With the growth of the city, the Jewish community grows as well, numbering some 2,500 at the end of the 18th century, making it the second largest Jewish community in the Netherlands after Amsterdam. Up until the 1930s, the community grows even further, numbering almost 11,000 at the beginning of the Second World War. The Holocaust however puts a stop to the flourishing Jewish life in the town; no more than 13% of the Rotterdam Jews survives. In the 1950s, a community numbering some 800 persons (no more than 7% of the pre-war number) revitalises Jewish life again. Besides the existing NIK congregation , another Jewish congregation is formed, this one not modern Orthodox but Liberal in form, aligned to the NVPJ
    Verbond voor Liberaal-Religieuze Joden in Nederland
    The Nederlands Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom is the umbrella organisation for Progressive Jews in the Netherlands, and is affiliated to the World Union for Progressive Judaism. It was founded in 1931 under the name of Verbond voor Liberaal-Religieuze Joden in Nederland The Nederlands Verbond...

    . The NIK community is nowadays the second largest NIK congregation in the Netherlands (Amsterdam is the largest), led by rabbi Jehoeda Vorst.
  • The Hague
    The Hague
    The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

  • Tilburg
    Tilburg
    Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....

  • Utrecht
    Utrecht (city)
    Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

  • Winterswijk
    Winterswijk
    Winterswijk is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands.Winterswijk is a town with a population of some 30,000 in the Achterhoek which lies in the most eastern part of the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It was also known as Winethereswick, Winriswic or Wenterswic...

    . Although the Jewish community in Winterswijk suffered severely during the Second World War, community life was re-established in 1951 with the re-inauguration of the synagogue present in this small town in the eastern part of the Netherlands. At that time, the community numbered no more than 30 people. In the years following however, the community stayed relatively stable, numbering approximately 22 members in 1998. Services are held only on an incidental basis though.
  • Zaandam
    Zaandam
    Zaandam is a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811...

  • Zutphen. While there were already Jews living in Zutphen during the Middle Ages
    Middle Ages
    The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

    , a strong growth of the Jewish community only started at the end of the 18th century. Many of them came from Germany. The community reached the number of 600 persons in 1875. In 1930, the community still numbered 532 persons. The Holocaust however had a devastating effect on Jewish life, with only some 60 Jews surviving the war. This didn't prevent Jewish life from resurfacing again. In 2000, the community merged with the Jewish communities of Apeldoorn
    Apeldoorn
    Apeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...

     and Deventer
    Deventer
    Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...

     to form the NIG De Stedendriehoek . Services are held at the synagogue of Zutphen, while some are also occasionally held at the synagogue of Apeldoorn.
  • Zwolle
    Zwolle
    Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...

    . Numbering some 600 in the 1930s, and 800 in 1940 (among them 121 foreign Jews), the Jews of Zwolle suffered tremendously during the Holocaust, with only 240 of them managing to survive by going into hiding or coming back alive from the Nazi concentration camps. Jewish life picked up again after the war had ended, and there is currently a small but active community, making extensive use of the city's synagogue.

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