THE HAGUE (JTA) — A Dutch chief rabbi said his community is “vexed” because a farewell event for the Dutch queen is scheduled for Yom Kippur.
“Jews are again faced with a reality in which they don’t belong, and that is painful,” Holland’s chief interprovincial rabbi, Binyomin Jacobs, told NRC Handelsblad last Friday.
The Dutch daily reported that Jacobs said officials from the Dutch Royal House should have made sure Jews would be able to attend the Sept. 14 event, when thousands are expected to gather in Rotterdam to wish Queen Beatrix a happy retirement after 33 years on the throne. Beatrix, who celebrated her 75th birthday on Jan. 31, announced in January that she was abdicating and handing the crown over to her oldest son, Prince Willem-Alexander. The abdication officially takes effect this Tuesday.
The committee planning the Sept. 14 event is aware of the Yom Kippur conflict, NRC Handelsblad reported, but the date likely will not be changed because of scheduling issues and because of limited availability of the conference center slated to hold the event.
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