A possible explanation for the high number of infections is the important social function of Beth Shalom. The care center is normally a meeting place for the Jewish community, said Bart Wallet, historian and specialist in the history of the Jews in the Netherlands. “People go to Beth Shalom for morning coffee and for all kinds of courses and training. The synagogue of the home is frequented by local residents. It is relatively busy because of that, people walk in and out all the time.’’

22 elderly people in a Jewish retirement house in Amsterdam died of coronavirus, nearly one fifth of all the Beth Shalom residents.

On April 8, the Dutch media reported that fifteen residents of the Jewish home for the elderly had died.

According to the Nieuw Israelitisch Weekblad, it is rumored on social media that the actual death toll is even higher, and that 35 elderly Jewish people would have died in Beth Shalom. But Wolter Knijff, a spokesperson for Cordaan, the care organization that Beth Shalom is part of, refuted the rumors and spoke Sunday of 22 deceased and fifteen residents of the retirement home who are infected or suspected of being infected. Seven people are said to have recovered. The sick are isolated from the other residents.

Beth Shalom is a close community: the home celebrates Jewish holidays and traditions together.

A possible explanation for the high number of infections is the important social function of Beth Shalom. The care center is normally a meeting place for the Jewish community, said Bart Wallet, historian and specialist in the history of the Jews in the Netherlands. “People go to Beth Shalom for morning coffee and for all kinds of courses and training. The synagogue of the home is frequented by local residents. It is relatively busy because of that, people walk in and out all the time.’’

Some say that the residents might have been infected during a joint Purim celebration on March 9.