A spokesman said the mayor is open to unorthodox methods to end to the upsurge of violence against Jews in Amsterdam. Mr Asscher was responding to a suggestion from Labour MP Ahmed Marcouch, himself of Moroccan parentage.

 

Hitler
A TV programme broadcast on Sunday by the Jewish Broadcasting Organisation showed rabbi Lody van de Kamp confronted by Moroccan youths giving the Hitler salute. The footage was recorded with a hidden camera. The rabbi and two school children went to various neighbourhoods in Amsterdam last week and were confronted not only by Hitler salutes but also by verbal abuse.

 

An earlier radio broadcast by the Jewish Broadcasting Organisation showed that the situation is equally serious in some other parts of the Netherlands, including the city of Rotterdam.

 

Skull-caps
Ronny Naftaniel, the head of anti-semitism watchdog the Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel, says, “it has become common for Jews to hide their skull-caps on the street.” The CIDI supports Ahmed Marcouch’s initiative.

 

In a radio interview the Labour MP said: “I say send fake Jews to arrest the attackers. Everything must be done to keep this phenomenon from growing. It seems like small incidents, but this is serious.”

 

Dutch police have in the past used officers posing as gay couples in order to combat anti-gay violence.