If Amsterdam purges prostitutes and pot shops from city center, will Jewish sites suffer?
Forward, September 30, 2020 Will the pandemic lockdown inspire Amsterdam to purge the sex and drugs from its historic core and focus more on its Jewish cultural heritage? Some natives hope so — but not necessarily the Jewish community. Like most of its European neighbors, Holland closed its borders during the coronavirus along with its schools, restaurants, museums, and its notorious tourist magnets: weed shops and legal prostitution. As soon the country re-opened in mid-June, thousands of tourists from surrounding countries poured into the compact city center. Already in July, hotel occupancy spiked up from the lockdown’s 10 percent to 50 percent. But for some locals, the post-lockdown period is not attracting the tourists they had hoped for. Read the rest on forward.com
