The number of complaints about anti-semitism in the Netherlands is going down but there has been an increase in physical attacks on Muslims, according to the environment ministry’s latest racial discrimination report, published on Thursday.

The monitor looks at trends in discrimination and concludes that attacks on Jews and Muslims vary according to national and international factors, such as the murder of film maker Theo van Gogh by a fundamentalist Muslim.
The results of the report are in sharp contrast to figures published by Israel information centre CIDI last week which claimed a rise in anti-semitic incidents.
Increase
Cidi said the number of physical attacks had doubled from two in 2008 to four last year. Threatening emails, graffiti and vandalism and swearing account for the bulk of the 167 incidents reported.
Claims of a rise in anti-semitism were also boosted by a tv show showing a rabbi and two youngsters in skull caps being shouted at and given a Hitler salute while visiting different parts of Amsterdam.
That led to the suggestion that the police should use plain clothes officers disguised as Jews to try and combat anti-semitic violence.