Jewish organisations are calling the desecration of graves in a Jewish cemetery in Dordrecht over the weekend a reminder that anti-semitism is not dead in the Netherlands.

The graves were daubed in paint and Nazi symbols only days after the  commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp.

Chris den Hoedt, spokesman for the Jewish community in Rotterdam told local broadcaster TV Rijnmond the timing of the attack showed that ‘anti-semitism is alive, no matter how many times you commemorate and look back.’

In a joint statement the Dutch-Israeli church community NIK, which owns the cemetery, and the Rotterdam Jewish community, stated that the ‘attack on the dead is an attack on memory, respect and human dignity.

The sheer determination of the perpetrators shows this isn’t a ‘simple’ act of vandalism. It speaks of hatred towards the Jewish community.’

Dordrecht mayor Wouter Kolff has called on witnesses to report to the police.