The current pandemic has severely reduced our chances to travel. Kosher resorts are closed, tourist destinations are empty, and even places that we’re used to visiting, like our community synagogues and kosher restaurants are more or less vacant. Most of us are stuck at home, only leaving the house to get groceries or go to work with a mask on. While the situation is a bit dire right now, COVID-19 will not last forever, and there will be a chance to travel far and wide once again. One great locale to visit on a future Jewish heritage tour is Amsterdam, Capital of Holland/The Netherlands. Here are a few reasons why. A Place of Sephardic Jewish history and heritage The Iberian Peninsula was once the home of the Sephardic Jews, who lived in relative prosperity under the Umayyad Caliphate from the 8th Century to the 13th Century. How does this relate to Amsterdam? Well, after the 1492 Alhambra Decree by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, countless Sephardic Jews were forced to flee their homes and live elsewhere. Some went to neighboring Portugal, facing their own struggles against the Portuguese Inquisition. Some went to different cities in France, such as Bayonne, where they introduced chocolate to the city. One of the more tolerant places of refuge for the Sephardic Jews (and later Ashkenazi Jews, when different circumstances would bring them to Holland) was the city of Amsterdam, where they grew prosperous in trade in commerce. It was, at one point, dubbed a Mokum, or safe haven for Jews. The Anne Frank House
The story of Anne Frank was immortalized with the publishing of her novel, A Diary of a Young Girl. Although she died tragically with most of her family in World War 2, the physical memory of her life can be witnessed and visited in the Anne Frank House, found near the heart of Amsterdam. Jewish tours through Holland are most enriched by a visit to this museum, a peek into the life of a Jewish girl during World War 2.
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