Letters to the editor

From Rembrandt’s Amsterdam to today’s reality
After reading “Rembrandt has been hailed for his love of the Jewish people — was it all myth?” (March 6), I thought back to an experience that I had in Amsterdam. I wanted to visit the Portuguese Synagogue. Finding the door locked, I rang the bell. A voice asked, in Hebrew, “Yes. Can I help you?” I responded, in Hebrew, that I would like to see the synagogue. After being let in, I asked the person at the desk why he spoke to me in Hebrew. He said that if I answered in Hebrew he knew it was safe to let me in. I was startled. How bad is antisemitism in Amsterdam that such precautions must be taken? Did the Jews of 17th-century Amsterdam feel more secure than the Amsterdam Jews of today? What a sad fact about the times we live in.

Mitchell Nyer
Pittsburgh