Amsterdam and Jewish Life: An Old Relationship

As our first week of classes started to come to a close, on Thursday (July 31) we continued our survey of integral characteristics of contemporary Dutch society. Yet, unlike the previous days, each of which had one particular theme (architecture, Islamic society, sex work), Thursday's class focused on two very distinct, yet both distinctive, aspects of Dutch society and culture: Dutch drug policy and the history of Jewish presence in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. As the two topics clearly stand alone, I will only discuss one of them in this entry, the former.
Walking past Anne Frankstraat and the Esnoga, the Portugese-Sephardic synagogue dating back to the late 1600s, we first visited the Jewish Historical Museum in the heart of the old Jewish quarter of Amsterdam. During our time at the museum, which used to house four synagogues (known as the Ashkenazi Synagogue Complex), we were able to get a glimpse into the history of Dutch Jewry from the 17th until the 20th century. Besides viewing historical material from these time periods--material that shed light on integral historic figures like Baruch Spinoza, Menasse ben Israel, Shabtai Tsvi-- we had the chance to view the synagogues from these time periods, since, as previously stated, they have come to physically form the present museum. The oldest synagogue in the complex, known as the Great Shul, was built in 1671. As the community dramatically grew during the late 17th and 18th centuries, three other synagogues were built in quick succession – the Obbene Shul (1686-1688), the Dritt Shul (1700) and the Neie Shul (1730, expanded in 1750). Each former synagogue now houses different galleries of the museum. For example, the galleries in the New Shul focus on the topic of Dutch Jewish life in the 20th century. The Great Shul features the exhibition on Jewish religion and tradition, as well galleries that highlight the history of the Jews of the Netherlands from the beginning of the 17th century till the end of the 19th century. The themes of these two sections of the museum, i.e. the past and present, are encapsulated by the following quote from the JHM website: “The stories about the first Jews to come to the Netherlands, about assimilation and integration, cultural interchange with non-Jews and the preservation of their Jewish identity are themes that remain topical today in contemporary situations and debates.”

After the museum tour, we walked a few blocks to another building, which is also considered part of the JHM, the Hollandsche Schouwburg (Dutch Theater). This theater was used as a deportation center for Jews during WWII. The theatre, built in 1892, used to be the entertainment center of the Jewish quarter. During the war, however, its function completely changed and it was used to send thousands of people to the Westerbork transit camp in Holland, and from there to the extermination camps where over 100,000 Dutch Jews were killed. The theater became a memorial in 1962. Its auditorium has been replaced by an open courtyard with an obelisk where the stage once stood. The entrance hall leads into a memorial room where an eternal flame burns. Next to the flame, there is a wall on which family names of all the Jews from the Netherlands who perished during the Second World War are engraved. Before leaving the Dutch Theater, we were given a lecture on how the events of World War II affected people living in the Netherlands.

Feeling like I could not get a full sense of the old Jewish quarter in Amsterdam without visiting the Esnoga, I went back to this part of town a few days later. After visiting the massive construction, I learned that it was built in 1671 by the ‘crypto-Jews’ of Portugal--Jews who fled to Portugal after the expulsion of 1492 and were forcibly converted to Catholicism in 1496 but were still persecuted because of their luminal status. Over a century later, with discrimination and persecution still rampant, many of these conversos, who were still secretly practicing Judaism, fled northwards and found refuge in Amsterdam. These refugees often called themselves Portuguese Jews to avoid being identified with Spain, which was at war with the Netherlands at the time. Within a few decades, they set up a bourgeoning community in their new place of residence and were able to enjoy the kinds of benefits that most Jews in Europe could not, since they were still predominantly relegated to impoverished ghettos. Thus, because of financial and social liberties, they were able to have a very massive synagogue built in central Amsterdam. Its magnitude and grandeur can only be truly felt after one goes inside the main sanctuary.

The synagogue also houses the oldest functioning Jewish library in the world, Ets Haim Bibliotheek, which has been in the Esnoga since 1675. The following quote from the library’s website puts the library into an interesting Sephardic-Jewish context: “By integrating rather than assimilating into their new environment, Spanish-Portuguese Jews often played an important role in transferring scientific knowledge from the Islamic world to Christian Europe. This openness is mirrored in the Ets Haim's policy of providing a thorough grounding in Jewish scholarship combined with excellent tutoring in secular subjects like literature, philosophy and the natural sciences. This mixed curriculum contributed greatly to a society where different religions coexisted.” And with this quote, I would like to end my blog entry because the blurb nicely introduces some issues that Emily and I will be investigating on this trip, primarily: the boundaries and unique attributes of Dutch-Jewish identity, the interaction with non-Jewish society in Amsterdam.

The following are two clips I took while at the Jewish Historical Museum:

Pragmatism and Prostitution

Most people still seem a little bit jet-lagged, but everyone is still trying hard to get into the swing of things. This was evident during class, as we started out the day with a guest lecture on prostitution; even though a couple of people struggled to stay awake, it definitely wasn't because of a lack of interest about the topic.

Prostitution has only been legal in the Netherlands since 2000, and has also been decriminalized in Hungary, Germany, New Zealand and certain parts of Australia, although technically most countries allow sex work in some form or another through escort agencies, strip clubs, etc., and there are sex worker advocacy groups in every country. Sex workers in the Netherlands, on average, see 4.3 clients a day (6.5 if working windows, 2.2 if working as an escort are the high and low averages). They make 35-50 Euros for 15-20 minutes of work, leading to average earnings of 1095 Euros a week, a large number when compared to the average Dutch citizen, who makes 1300 Euros a month. Sex work is therefore a rather lucrative enterprise, which is witnessed also by the fact that a majority of surveyed sex workers admitted that money played some part in their decision to get into the industry. Sex workers pay taxes and are able to deduct business expenses.

I interrupt my thrilling list of statistics to put the reasoning for the legalization of prostitution into a context, namely the context of Seattle; as mentioned in the previous post, there are many things that set the Dutch apart from the rest of the world and lead people to consider them a bastion of liberal ideals, and this is mostly due to their pragmatism. The presentation we were given on the first day was about American moral values (the Bible says) vs. Dutch pragmatism (the practical approach) as the underlying theories in policy making. I definitely saw more of Seattle in the pragmatic approach, rather than the moral approach, which is furthered by a comparison of their history of sex work. Seattle in the early 1900's was a stopping point for men headed towards Alaska for the gold rush, and like any good port town, soon had a thriving sex industry. Understanding that it would be impossible to crack down on the 2,700 sex workers who had set up shop in the area, city officials created a special district for the women. Because prostitution was still considered morally reprehensible by the general public, the women were portrayed as seamstresses, and like the many women I have seen over the past few days, modeled scanty garments in the windows of their "storefronts". Pragmatically enough, however, city officials charged a "sewing machine tax" which provided a large percentage of Seattle city income for a few years. So Seattle city officials, realizing that they couldn't keep prostitution at bay, tood the somewhat pragmatic approach and let prostitution continue, even profiting off of it, but tempered this with good old American morality by pretending these women weren't actually prostitutes, but seamstresses.

Dutch pragmatism seems like it can also be explained by this quote, from Another Roadside Attraction by Pacific Northwest author Tom Robbins:

"Man is not as good as he thinks he is. (Nor as bad, for that matter, but let’s not complicate things.) He has certain needs, demands certain services which in reality are probably healthy and natural, but to which in time’s passage and as a result of odd quirks in his ethos, he has ascribed (or allowed his religious leaders- often guilt warped, psychopathic misfits- to ascribe) negative values. In the queerest of paradoxical metamorphoses, honest desires change into taboos. To simply “say” that a desire is immoral- or, resorting to even flimsier abstraction, to deem the fulfillment of a desire illegal- does not eliminate the desire. It does not eliminate anything except straightforwardness. "

Between this pragmatic viewpoint, the rain, the friendly yet withdrawn people, excess of bikes, and strange fish dishes, I basically feel like I have reached Seattle in some sort of alternate universe where I can't figure out what I am buying at the grocery store (does anyone need a liter of buttermilk?) and there aren't advertisements on every single available surface.

Which leads me into my project, which is supposedly about women's portrayal in advertising. I decided to do this project because I am interested in women's rights issues and also media studies, so I thought it was a nice mix. I didn't want to do any sort of typical study of the Dutch (men marrying men! euthanasia! prostitution! drugs!) because I thought perhaps these were overstudied and overhyped issues. However, it is impossible for me to explain how omnipresent these things seem to be, except for by spitting out more statistics:

Number of transgendered people seen today: 7

Number of men Rollerblading in gold thongs: 1

Number of "coffee shops" passed today: 15

Number of bongs: Too many to count

Number of booths selling pornography in public markets during middday: 1, possibly 2, although we did only go to one small market.

Etc.

Perhaps what I am trying to say is that in the touristy center of Amsterdam that our group has mostly seen, what you expect from Amsterdam is exactly what you get, and I'm a little bit disappointed that I didn't fully take advantage of the fact that the Netherlands are so different in planning my research.

I'm also disappointed that I didn't join the squatting group. Another thing that the Dutch approach pragmatically is using space; thus, squatting is legal if a building is not in use for a certain period of time. Today after our lecture a group of us simply wandered the streets of Amsterdam eating "frites" (the Dutch specialty of French Fries, ours sans the Dutch specialty of a heaping scoop of mayonaise), ordered bikes (a necessity here, it is beginning to appear), attended the previously mentioned market, and then made our way to a squat for dinner. For 6 to 10 Euros (payment on a sliding scale) each person got delicious soup with green onions, followed by a plate of stir fried veggies, tofu, and rice with peanut sauce, and then, for 1.5o more, the most healthy/best tasting dessert I have ever eaten, a blueberry cream pie with a thick wheaty crust. I'm really jealous of the community that is built around these squats, and also of Isaac, Fiona and Cassie, who are studying them/eating more delicious vegan food in the next month.

Sorry about the poor video lighting, for some reason there were no lights really turned on in the squat, and I was also trying to keep a low profile with the camera.

Amsterdam's Architecture: 1200-Present

Well! Our first formal day has come to an end! It was certainly a busy day, filled with almost too much interesting information, amazing lecturers and a beautiful city. We met in the classrooms at the Prins Hendrikkade location and  kicked off the program with, no surprise, a brief orientation: to each other, the resident faculty, and the city itself. We were graced by Prof. Mirjam Schieveld of the Universiteit van Amsterdam, who provided an amazing background on Dutch politics, legislation and the repercussions therein. Interestingly, while the Netherlands is technically a parliamentary democracy, it is still a constitutional monarchy: that is, the legislation is governed by Parliament and the Prime Minister, but the head of state is Queen Beatrix, (whose role is more ceremonial than in the past) moderates between parties when compiling a new cabinet. 

Principle socio-cultural differences between the United States and the Netherlands (as a function of legislation):

The legality of sex work, soft drugs and gay marriage. Two main points to keep in mind: the Dutch pride themselves on their pragmatism but also the idea of compassion instead of punishment. While sex work is legal in the Netherlands, this does not mean that it has social/societal approval. Just because it is not criminalized as it is in the United States does not mean that it is a fully accepted practice or profession. The emphasis is on work, prostitution is seen as a necessity: the oldest profession in the world (another example of Dutch pragmatism). There are main concerns for the population (both for prostitution and soft drugs): abuse of minors and public nuisance. With such a densely populated country, most Dutch laws are to "keep the peace" and prevent/reduce any public disturbances. 

Finally, while gay marriage is legal here (in the Netherlands), it is a purely secular practice. This, to me, is the fundamental issue in the United States: it seems to me that US citizens are unable to separate civil marriage from holy matrimony. I'm not about to dictate your religious practices or comment on your spirituality, and while I feel that same-sex couples should be granted the same legal rights as heterosexual couples, maybe that's just my pragmatism speaking. If gay couples are going to exist anyway, why discriminate against an unavoidable situation? By not legalizing gay marriage, we are not preventing homosexuality or preventing the formation of same-sex couples; not providing basic rights is not preventative, so how can you justify this type of legal discrimination?

The whole legal issue surrounding soft drugs originated in the 1970s and they certainly provide a health/medical issue. Drugs are seen as a reality: people are going to use them, so do not criminalize them. The original goal of this legislation was to separate the worlds of 'normal use' and criminality. A lot of people are able to use (soft) drugs without becoming addicted, and of course, coffeeshops pay specific taxes for operation. While it is legal for coffeeshops to have up to 500g of cannabis on the premises, and only able to sell 5g per customer, it is illegal to grow marijuana. While seven plantations are shut down every day, seven more are opened. If the local government wants to enforce the law, they can do so (the iron fist in the velvet glove), it looks liberal and tolerant, but is actually a highly controlled and regulated practice. This applies not only to the drug policies, but also policies concerning sexwork.

Amsterdam Architecture: A Brief Introduction

We ended Prof. Schieveld's lecture with a short lunch break, followed by a quick trip across the street to ARCAM: the Architectuurcentrum Amsterdam, where we were privy to the architectural history of Amsterdam from 1,200 CE - present. We discussed the natural topography and ecology. As many of you may know, the Netherlands are somewhat sunken; Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, is the lowest point sitting at 7m below sea level. Additionally, the area where Amsterdam is now, used to be (and would really love to return to) swampland. The city was built by pounding in tree-sized poles (12m long, to be on the safe side) into the ground, through the swamp, to the stable layer of sand below (sound kind of sketchy? This was actually how Seattle was originally constructed before the city burned in 1889) This too explains why most of the buildings in the old city center/canal neighborhood lean in on each other. As Dick Weeda (our tour guide) explained, the buildings are designed to lean forward, over the street - but the sideways bit, that's because whoever constructed the structure didn't use 12m poles for the foundation, they skimped out a little (in some cases, this wasn't a big deal - the sandy layer could be as shallow as 8m but usually no deeper than 10m). As the poles sink, the buildings' foundations sink as well, leaving these structures to appear precarious, at best. 

Holland's architectural heyday was actually just recently (unlike it's economic pinnacle in the 17th century) due to architects like Aldo van Eyck and Rem Koolhaus. The Historicism period (also known as the Amsterdam Renaissance) began at the turn of the 19thC, creating such structures as the St. Nicholaaskerk (the church pictured above). The primary architect during this period was P.J.H. Cuypers. This style combines both gothic and renaissance architecture in an effective and monumental manner, without the gilding of the Rococo or the overwhelming tenderness of the Baroque. Also around the beginning of the 20thC, the Art Deco movement was taking hold all over Europe, leaving a more subtle mark in Amsterdam. 

The next major period of Dutch architecture was that of the Amsterdam School, which is what Modern Dutch architecture looked like for the better part of the 20thC. Influenced by P.J.H. Cuypers and H.P. Berlage, the Amsterdam School is typical of modern architecture; similar to the International Style, but much more intimate. After WWII, this style is infused with socialist ideals; utilizing curving lines and organic concepts. Berlage also built the Stock Exchange Building (1903), now known as the Beurs van Berlage which can be seen above with the NYSE flag waving proudly.

program starts