Large-scale migration from Morocco to the Netherlands started in the 1960s under a guest worker program. But when Dutch officials realized that families from Morocco and elsewhere weren’t returning to their homelands, they tried to get them to learn Dutch. When that only partially worked, attitudes hardened.
A sense of mutual distrust has descended upon Amsterdam’s Muslim and Jewish communities. Anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise and Jewish institutions are now guarded by police. Despite this, two activists — one Jewish, and one Muslim — have found common ground, and friendship, though not without personal cost.