Explosion damages Jewish school in Amsterdam

No injuries reported, mayor describes it as deliberate attack against Jewish community

An explosion damaged a Jewish school in Amsterdam early on Saturday, in what the city's mayor described as "a deliberate attack against the Jewish community".

The explosion at the school in an upscale residential neighbourhood on the south side of Amsterdam only caused limited damage, Mayor Femke Halsema said in a press release, as police and firefighters arrived at the scene quickly.

No injuries were reported.

Security at synagogues and Jewish institutions in the Dutch capital had already been heightened after an overnight arson attack at a synagogue in the centre of Rotterdam on Friday.

Read: Truck attack on Michigan synagogue, leaves assailant dead, one wounded

In neighbouring Belgium, an explosion caused a fire at a synagogue in Liege on Monday.

"This is a cowardly act of aggression against the Jewish community," Halsema said.

"Jewish people in Amsterdam are increasingly confronted with antisemitism. This is unacceptable."