Utrecht Jewish Community Launches Student Residence Project Amid Rising Antisemitism
The Jewish community in Utrecht and local families are launching a crowdfunding campaign for 'Beth Omer', a new student residence named after two fallen Israeli soldiers, to combat rising European antisemitism.
Amid a rising wave of antisemitism across the Netherlands and unprecedented diplomatic tensions with Israel, the Jewish community in Utrecht and the Galdor–Van Gelder families are launching a crowdfunding campaign to establish "Beth Omer".
This new Jewish student residence is designed to provide a warm, safe, and vibrant space for Jewish and Israeli students studying in the city, enabling them to live proud and secure Jewish lives. The initiative comes at a particularly sensitive and difficult time. A government report published this year in the Netherlands revealed that Jewish students and faculty members in higher education suffer from a deep sense of insecurity, often hiding their Jewish identity or completely avoiding campus. Meanwhile, diplomatic relations have hit severe turbulence, culminating in strict luggage searches of Israeli travelers entering the Netherlands to target settlement-derived products.
The Need in a Student Hub
In Utrecht, a major student city with some 70,000 students across three primary institutions, the distress is felt daily. The local Jewish community, numbering hundreds of members, faces an increase in antisemitic incidents and a surging demand for protected spaces.
"Since October 7, 2023, Jewish students have become a vulnerable minority," explains Rachel Levy, head of the Utrecht Jewish community. "Pro-Palestinian protests have become a permanent fixture in the city, sometimes accompanied by antisemitic slogans and Hamas propaganda. For Jewish students, who already constitute a tiny minority at universities, this creates a growing sense of insecurity. At the same time, the Netherlands faces a severe student housing shortage, and many turn to us for a room in the existing student house – but with only five rooms, we are forced to turn many away."
Levy adds that Beth Omer will offer a broad and vital solution: "The house will give us a place where they can live, study, and be proudly Jewish – whether religious or secular, it doesn't matter. This is a home that connects Israel with the Diaspora, bridging the past, present, and future. We want to take this tragedy and turn it into positive Jewish strength that will build a stronger future in Utrecht."
Historical Closure and Roots
Alongside the immediate response for students, the project embodies an emotional family and historical circle of closure. The residence will be named after two cousins who fell in the Iron Swords battles: Master Sergeant (Res.) Amar Moshe Gal Dor, 30, who fell in November 2024 in battle in southern Lebanon; and Sergeant First Class Omer Van Gelder, 22, who fell in June 2025 during fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The two are great-grandsons of the late Rabbi Joseph Van Gelder, who served as chief rabbi and leader of the Jewish community in Utrecht during the Holocaust. The family later immigrated to Israel, and now the establishment of the house in Utrecht intertwines the local heritage with the heroism of the sons who fell defending the homeland.
"For our family, it is a great privilege to return to the place where our Jewish roots grew and to continue the legacy left by Rabbi Joseph and Eva Van Gelder," says Ilan Gal-Dor, a family member leading the initiative. "Beth Omer allows us to turn the immense pain over the loss of our two dear family members into a home that will be a safe haven for young Jews, connect Israel and the Diaspora, and ensure that future generations can live proud Jewish lives here."
The new building will be erected in a historical Jewish school complex that previously served the community in the city. Beyond residential rooms, the facility is planned to serve as a social and community hub for the Utrecht Jewish student association ("Barvaz"), which numbers close to 200 members. The Utrecht Jewish community and the Galdor–Van Gelder family call on the public in Israel and worldwide to support the crowdfunding campaign to complete the building's renovation and ensure its opening. Donations to the project are tax-deductible in Israel and the Netherlands.
