A delegation of the RCE, led by Israel’s Chief Rabbi David Lau, shlita, toured the Jewish communities in Belgium and Holland to strengthen and inspire them. They met with the local Jews and listened to them describe the difficulties and dangers they face. The delegation promised to work to ensure more safety and security in their daily lives.

The purpose of this visit was to lift the spirits of the Jews who live there, who are encountering rising anti-Semitism. The Jewish communities greatly appreciated the visit and scheduled a series of special events in their guests’ honor.

The most impressive of these events took place in the ancient Portuguese beit hakenesset in Amsterdam, which has been preserved exactly as it was since its founding. Even today the building has no electricity. The shul is closed throughout the year and is opened for tefillah only on Yom Kippur night, at which time 1,200 candle-lamps provide brilliant lighting to enable people to daven there. As a demonstration of their deep respect, the leaders of Holland’s Jewish community decided to open the beit hakenesset and to light all 1,200 candles in honor of Harav David Lau’s visit.

Before leaving the beit hakenesset the delegation visited its library, which is known to have many old and extremely rare sefarim, some of which are the only copies in existence. One of the thousands of sefarim there is a copy of the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, handwritten by one of his talmidim.

The delegation then visited The Hague, where they were met by Rabbi Shmuel Katzman, the local Rav, and Rabbi Yehuda Vorst, Rav in Rotterdam. In a community-wide celebration, the Jewish Community Center building, which was completed just days before the visit, was inaugurated. Harav David Lau was honored with affixing the mezuzah on the building’s main entrance, after which he addressed the community with an encouraging and inspiring message.

While in The Hague, Rabbi Lau met with 12 members of Holland’s parliament and discussed the issue of rising anti-Semitism and the need to provide better security for the local Jews. The members of parliament promised to do everything in their power to bolster security for the Jewish community so that Jews will not feel the need to hide the fact that they are Jewish.

The delegation then visited the Chabad House for local university students, run by Rabbi Yanki Jacobs. Rabbi Lau fielded questions that the students asked him on practical issues.

In the evening the delegation attended a special ceremony in the Ashkenazi Great Synagogue, along with 300 rabbis and members of Jewish communities from throughout Holland. Harav David Lau addressed the participants, stressing the importance of strengthening and maintaining Jewish values, as well as the need for ongoing unity among all the Jewish communities.