This an official photograph of Tobias Michael Carel Asser (April 28, 1838–July 29, 1913), who was born in Amsterdam to a Jewish family with extensive experience in the field of law. As well as his father and grandfather having practised law, his uncle had served as the Dutch minister of justice. Tobais Asser also studied law and completed his PhD at the age of 24. He embarked on an academic career in international law at the University of Amsterdam. He strongly believed that international conferences could solve problems of international law, and thus persuaded the Dutch to hold several of such conferences, the first two were held at The Hague. As a result of these conferences, a treaty was made effective from 1899 which set out a uniform international procedure for conducting civil trials. Asser also founded an international law journal and was instrumental in establishing the Institute of International Law in 1873. He was the joint winner (with Alfred Fried) of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1911 for his role in the formation of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the first peace conference (1899) at The Hague.
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Jewish Nobel Prize Winners – The Nobel Prize is awarded for outstanding contributions to mankind. The prizes commemorate the Swedish inventor of dynamite who wished to atone for his harmful invention. The prizes are given for achievements in chemistry, literature, physics, peace, physiology, medicine and economics. Over 20% of the Nobel Prizes have been awarded to Jews since they were first awarded in 1901, a percentage which is disproportionate to the number of Jews in the world. Notable Jewish laureates include: scientists such as Albert Einstein, Fritz Haber, Ada Yonat, Richard Feynman, and Niels Bohr; researchers of physiology and medicine such as Paul Ehrlich and Hans Adolf Krebs; and writers such as Boris Pasternak, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Imre Kertész, Bob Dylan, and Shai Agnon. Jews have also received prizes in the field of economics, for example, Milton Friedman, Daniel Kahneman, and Robert Aumann. Jewish Winners of the Noble Peace Prize includedTobias Michael Carel Asser, Rene Cassin, Henry Kissinger, Menachem Begin, Elie Wiesel, Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres.
The Jewish Community of the Netherlands – Jews have been living in the Netherlands since the Roman era, but the most reliable records referring to Jews living in Nijmegen, Doesburg, and Arnhem date back to the 1100s. The spread of the Black Death during the Middle Ages led to much anti-Semitism, blood libels, expulsions, and massacres in the Netherlands, as in other European countries. Documentation describes that Jews provided services, mainly financial, and paid taxes and in return received some protection from the kings and nobles. In the late fifteenth century, Jews were expelled or forced to convert to Christianity in Spain and Portugal. The atmosphere in the Netherlands, however, was more tolerant and favourable for the Jews, and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews arrived in the country, where they could practise their religion freely. Many of these Spanish and Portuguese Jews settled in Amsterdam and established successful trading businesses. Famous Jews of this time included the rabbi Menasseh Ben Israel and the philosopher Baruch Spinoza. German Jews were also attracted to the tolerant Dutch cities and began to immigrate to the country. They were generally poorer than the Sephardi Jews who had already settled in the Netherlands and were less welcome. Many were turned away and ended up settling in rural areas and establishing Jewish communities throughout the Dutch provinces. Over time, these Jews also prospered, and many were responsible for founding the Dutch diamond business. The eighteenth century brought the Dutch Jews emancipation and further prosperity. By the outbreak of World War II around 140,000 Jews lived in the Netherlands, among them approximately 25,000 German Jewish refugees. Germany occupied the country in 1940, and only 35,000 Dutch Jews survived the Holocaust. The Dutch Jewish community underwent many changes after the war, and many of the survivors immigrated to Israel and other countries. In the 1980s the community was boosted by an influx of Israeli and Russian Jews, and currently around 45,000 Jews live in the Netherlands, mostly in Amsterdam.
