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Amsterdam: Demonstrators protested, among other things, against the presence of Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the opening ceremony

Photo: Freek van Den Bergh / EPA

Overshadowed by protests against Israel's attacks in the Gaza Strip, the new national Holocaust museum has opened in Amsterdam.

High-ranking state officials, including the Dutch King Willem-Alexander, warned of growing anti-Semitism at the ceremony on Sunday.

"Poisonous words and actions can lead to a deadly dynamic," he said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also attended the opening.

He complained that “anti-Semitism and hatred are once again flourishing worldwide.”

He called for people to fight against it.

“Never Again begins now.”

Near the celebration in the “Portuguese Synagogue,” more than 1,000 people demonstrated against Herzog’s visit and Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, from which the Palestinian civilian population is suffering massively.

In loud chants they accused Israel of mass murder.

There were also clashes with the police during the demonstration.

Herzog's presence at the museum opening had previously been criticized.

Given its role in the Israeli attacks, the umbrella association of mosques had already announced in Amsterdam on Friday that the visit was undesirable.

Herzog made controversial comments about the Gaza war

Critics pointed to Herzog's controversial statements about the Gaza war.

They were also cited as problematic by the International Court of Justice in the genocide case against Israel.

In January, the UN's highest court ordered Israel to do everything it could to prevent genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Germany and Austria contributed to the costs of the museum.

The President of the Bundesrat, Manuela Schwesig, who took part in the opening from the German side, said: "We have to defend against the beginnings, together, everywhere in Europe." The current demonstrations in Germany against hatred, violence and right-wing extremism showed: "In our society There is no place for anti-Semitism.” The Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania represented the Federal President at the celebration.

During the Second World War, around 102,000 Jewish Dutch people were murdered by German National Socialists.

That corresponded to about three quarters of the Jewish population.

In proportion, more Jews were murdered in the Netherlands than in any other Western European country.

alw/dpa