Dear Mr Rutte, dear Mark,
The world has changed since October 7 last year. If that applies to one population group in our country, it is the Jewish one. While Israel was confronted with an outright pogrom on its territory, perpetrated by a terrorist state, Jews in the Netherlands have been intimidated and attacked ever since. Incessantly and increasingly intensified.
Even when students are invited to a synagogue to introduce them to Judaism, swastikas are carved into the synagogue benches afterwards. Even in what by definition should be your own safe and holy environment, within the synagogue, you feel intimidated. After that, as a Jew you no longer dare to go to the synagogue, you no longer feel safe anywhere, then you no longer go anywhere. Because if you can no longer feel safe even in the synagogue, where else?
Government fails to support Jewish fellow citizens
A group of children from a Jewish youth club were verbally abused and attacked on the street and at the station. One of the many sad examples that reach us. The mayor remains silent, city council members walk away, afraid to make their voices heard in favor of a motion condemning anti-Semitism in their own city. New examples are added week after week. Instead of promoting Jewish life in the Netherlands and ensuring that Jews are safe, the opposite is happening, they are being terrorized to pieces.
This is the current position of the Netherlands in our relationship with our Jewish fellow citizens and it is worrying. The government must stand squarely behind our Jewish fellow citizens, in word and in deed. Even in words, this is lacking, as evidenced by the half-hearted response of the State Secretary for Culture and Media in the House of Representatives after the disruption of a concert by the Jewish singer Lenny Kuhr.
Words have been lost for too long, appealing to society is wonderful, but it is particularly about actions to which the authorities, such as the Prime Minister, ministers, mayors and the Public Prosecution Service, are simply obliged. What we see, on the other hand, is diving behavior. The Public Prosecution Service looks for excuses when it comes to the slogan ‘From the river to the sea’.
We see the organization Samidoun, which is banned in Germany, in full swing here. Hardly any demonstrators are arrested and mayors stretch the right to demonstrate the absurd on. The most painful example of this is the misconduct tolerated during the solemn opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam on March 10. The authorities have exposed the Netherlands worldwide by stripping an event like this of its dignity. On the backs of survivors and relatives.
The hostages are still not free
Authorities must ensure the safety and undisturbed conduct of every citizen. The government exists to protect life, liberty and property. It seems as if this does not apply to Jewish citizens. While it is they who carry with them the darkest episode in Dutch history like no other population group. For this reason alone, our government has a moral obligation to continue to support Israel in its struggle to eliminate Hamas.
The hostages are still not all free. Rockets are still being fired at Israel from Gaza. And Iran still poses the greatest threat to Israel (while Israel has no aspirations towards Iran at all, let’s not lose sight of that asymmetry).
Israel cannot afford to lose a war
Is Israel doing everything right? No of course not. But can Israel afford to lose a war, a war raging on two sides of the country plus a spiral of violence in the areas under Palestinian control? No, because if we continue to poorly care for our Jewish fellow citizens, there will always have to be an Israel. That is what our Jewish fellow citizens are concerned about.
But apart from that, it applies to all of us that Israel is simply a state like any UN member state, so with the right to absolute sovereignty. In contrast, Iran is the openly driving force behind efforts to wipe out a fellow UN member, Israel. While until October 7 we saw that various surrounding Arab countries were establishing relations with Israel, Iran is actually destroying this rapprochement process by deploying Hamas and supporting it on all sides.
Come visit Qatar
Prime Minister Rutte, you have been to Israel often enough. It is high time to reschedule such visits to Qatar and Egypt. There lies the key to the solution. The smuggling tunnels from Egypt have not all been closed yet. Tunnels that end in the border town of Rafah. Hamas is being supplied under the eyes of Egyptian President al-Sisi.
The Hamas leaders who enjoy housing in Qatar can be led by the emir in an instant to lay down their weapons, get rid of the population as human shields and release the Israeli hostages. Then Rafah doesn’t have to be attacked.
Among the measures the government must take to protect our Jewish fellow citizens and promote Jewish life, not least is continued support for Israel in its fight against Hamas. Other EU member states such as Germany and Austria seem to understand much better the moral obligation there is when it comes to Israel. Our country also has this obligation.
Tackle anti-Semitism
But Israel is also a thoroughly Western country. A country that belongs to the ‘one of us’ countries. The Netherlands was among the first countries to recognize Israel 75 years ago. Prime Minister Rutte, act accordingly. Continue to support Israel in the fight against Hamas, stand up against Iran in a European context and in a UN context. Take concrete steps: put tackling anti-Semitic behavior first in enforcement and, first of all, get Samidoun off the streets and ban this extremist organization.
*On behalf of Classical Liberal, kind regards,
Reinier Geerligschairman Classical Liberal
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