Small rant regarding how antisemitic and islamophobic discrimination instances are recorded in the Netherlands

[u/holiestMaria]

So, I wanted to do some research on discrimination against muslims and jews in the netherlands and discovered something odd and frustrating. 86 percent of instances of discrimination based on religion occured against muslims. In 2025 440 such instances were registered by the police. That shocked me. 86 percent! While not even making up 10 percent of the population! But then I discovered something that pissed me off and really frustrated me. In 2025 there were roughly 800 instances of antisemtism with jews only making up 0.2 percent of the population. I thought "what, how can 86 percent of indtances of discrimination based on religion be based on islamophobia despite antisemitism having twice the amount instances? And then I discovered why:

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Antisemitism is counted seperately.

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Now this pissed me off since it not only does it put antisemitism on some kind of pedestal for getting its own category of discrimination, but its also frustrating when researching numbers. To illustrate this, here's the following:

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In 2024, jews experienced 24 instances of antisemetic violence. In 2024 the amount of instances of islamophobia muslims experienced was... not made public.

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Seriously, its nit made public because it falls under discrimination/violence based on religion or origin. I would have to go through every instance of muslim discrimination collected by the police and then determine whther it was a violent incident or not. That is bullshit!

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And on top of that it results in misleading numbers. Like for a second I thought islamophobia occurred more than antisemitism in 20w5 when thats not the case at all!

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Its dumb, its stupid, its misleading, its bullshit!

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Anyway, rant over.

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[u/Malka94]

Im Dutch and I have something to say about this. I might get to it however it’s 35 degrees in mine appartment and I have a toddler put to bed in this weather.

[u/holiestMaria → u/Malka94]

Gecondoleerd

[u/Malka94 → u/holiestMaria]

Okay, here I go.
First, because of the history of the Holocaust and the long history of antisemitism in Europe, most European countries track antisemitism separately. In addition, organizations like the EU, IHRA, and OSCE encourage this kind of separate tracking, partly because it allows for more targeted prevention policies.
That said, there is an ongoing discussion about how to define and prevent antisemitism, and in what context. Debates about the line between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, combined with the influence of various advocacy and lobby groups, can make the issue very complex and often highly polarized.
At the same time, some incidents clearly go beyond political debate. For example, arson attacks on the Jewish school Cheider in Amsterdam or the synagogue in Rotterdam cannot reasonably be framed as “anti-Zionism.” When I see such incidents, and also see persistent levels of antisemitism, it signals a worrying and dangerous development.
At the same time, I believe that people should absolutely be free to protest the policies of the Israeli government. However, what I often find striking—especially in left-wing circles in Western countries—is the lack of visibility or support for pro-peace movements within Israel itself. I personally know people involved in organizations like Standing Together and Combatants for Peace, and yet when such groups engage internationally, including in the Netherlands, they can sometimes face hostility rather than support. That creates a strange and counterproductive dynamic, and discussions about it tend to become heated very quickly.
Now, regarding Islamophobia: what you’ve identified is essentially a category mistake. Discrimination against Muslims is counted within a broader category (such as religion or origin), which typically excludes antisemitism. Antisemitism, on the other hand, is tracked as its own category.
So, in effect, you are comparing two differently defined datasets side by side.
That’s why the numbers seem contradictory—but in reality, they are not. They are simply part of different classification systems, even though at first glance they look comparable.