Dutch Baptist Pastor Hits the Pavement to Show Solidarity with Israel, Jews

Netherlands-based Baptist pastor Stan Kamps and members of his church took to the streets of Amsterdam with Israeli flags in order to express support for Israel and Dutch Jews.

Canadian-born pastor Stan Kamps, who runs an English-speaking church in the Dutch city of Almere, led a group of his church’s parishioners who walked around Amsterdam holding Israeli flags and handing out literature about Israel to people they encountered.

“So many people believe the lies and propaganda they are being fed about Israel. This is why I go out with my Israeli flag, to encourage Jewish and Israeli people, and to speak with others [who] will listen about the truth in regards to Israel,” Kamps wrote in an email to the Jerusalem Post.

Kamps said he is very concerned about anti-Semitism in the Netherlands, citing a Jerusalem Post report that Dutch Chief Rabbi Benjamin Jacobs is frequently accosted with anti-Semitic epithets.

“[I] want [Jacobs] to know that we love him and are praying for him and his safety,” Kamps wrote. “I hope that this will also encourage others to stand up for our Jewish neighbors and for Israel. It has to start somewhere and I know that with God’s help we can make a difference. I say let it start with me.”

Kamps is not the only member of his family to stand up for Dutch Jews. “My grandfather had a farm and business in the north of the country, so [he and Kamps’s uncle] were able to hide Jewish people there until they were caught” and arrested by the Nazis during the Holocaust, wrote the pastor.

By: JNS.org