page_title: Nederlands Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap
section_title: Current
hierarchical_section_title: Nederlands Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap / Congregations / Current
caption_attribution_description: The entrance of the synagogue, designed by De Bazel. The text above the entrance comes from the Book of Isaiah 56:7 (ספר ישעיהו נו:ז) and says: כי ביתי בית תפילה יקרא לכל העמים. Which the KJV translates as: "for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people."
context_page_description: The Nederlands-Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap is the umbrella organisation for most Jewish communities in the Netherlands, and is Orthodox in nature, while to be described as traditional in outlook. The expression Orthodox, is for the Dutch situation at least, of a later date than the existence of the congregations that make up the NIK and the NIK itself. The Rabbi of the NIK is Rabbi Dr. Raphael Evers. In total, the NIK has some 20 rabbis actively working in 18 congregations throughout the country, serving some 5,000 Jews.
context_section_description: Congregations are called Nederlands Israëlietische Gemeente (NIG) or Joodse Gemeente. They exist in the following places:
  Almere. The NIG Almere was founded on 5 January 1997, making it the youngest NIK-Jewish community in the country. Rabbi for the community is rabbi Moshe Stiefel, who also has plans to start a community in Lelystad, the capital of Flevoland province. Because of its proximity to Amsterdam, with more than 15,000 Jews the center of Jewish life in the Netherlands, Jewish Almere is steadily growing. A Jewish cemetery for the community was inaugurated on January 2004.
  Amersfoort. The Jewish community in Amersfoort is currently one of the biggest outside of Amsterdam. Jewish life in Amersfoort started in the 17th century when Sephardic Jews settled inside the city. At the beginning of the 18th century they were joined by Ashkenazi Jews. The community grew to some 400 members in 1930. A large number of them managed to go into hiding at the beginning of the Second World War. The community was re-established in 1945, and had some 230 members in the first two decades after the war, diminishing to some 130 at the end of the 20th century. Nevertheless, the community still thrives. Amersfoort is the residence of Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, who serves as the main religious leader for the Jewish communities outside of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Leiden. Amersfoort is also home to the Sinai Center for Jewish Mental Health.
  Amsterdam.
  Breda. The Jewish community in Breda numbers some 60 members, spread over the western part of the province of North Brabant. Jewish life officially started in 1803, and grew fast, numbering 230 persons in 1840 and 284 in 1899. This eventually declined to 181 persons in 1930. Approximately one of three Breda Jews survived the Holocaust. Jewish life restarted again after the war, and now Breda still boosts a lifely community, which has its own library and magazine.
  Bussum. At the beginning of the 20th century, Bussum saw the rise of a Jewish community. Religious services were first held in Bussum in 1911. The community grew strong in the years following, reaching 341 members in 1930. After that, the community grew even more due to the influx of dozens of German-Jewish refugees. Approximately half of the Jews in Bussum were killed in the Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War. After the war Jewish life was restored and managed to flourish, with more than 200 people part of the community up until the 1970s. This number diminished slightly to some 150 members at the eve of the 21st century, making it one of the bigger Jewish communities in the Netherlands outside of Amsterdam (home to 15,000 Jews).
  Enschede  The 17th century saw the first arrival of Jews in Enschede. The community grew due to the existence of industry in and around the city, and there were more than 1,400 Jews living in the city in 1941. Although the community was hit hard during the war, 395 Jews were still left in or returned to the city in June 1945. The first few years saw a strong Jewish community of some 300 persons resurfacing in the city. However, due to migration, aging, assimilation, and secularization, the community dwindled to some 70 members in 2006. The NIG communities in Hengelo and Almelo merged with the NIG community in Enschede in June 2006 to form the NIG Twente, Twente being the region around Enschede. August 2007 saw the appointment of a new rabbi within the community, rabbi Eliahoe Aharon Philipson, after rabbi Dov I. Salzmann, the previous rabbi, being the first post-Holocaust rabbi, retired and returned to his hometown Rehovot in Israel.
  Groningen
  Haarlem. Since the end of the 20th century being led by the dynamic rabbi Shmuel Spiero and since then one of the faster-growing communities.
  The Hague
  Leeuwarden. Jewish life in Leeuwarden flourished in the second part of the 19th century when the community numbered some 1,200 persons. This declined to 750 in the 1930s. The Holocaust saw the destruction of the once vibrant community. In 1951 the community had some 139 members; nowadays some 5
caption: The synagogue in the city of Enschede, inaugurated by the Jewish community in 1928.
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