After ‘Amsterdam’ ashamed to be Dutch! Jews come home!

The pogrom in Amsterdam of last week against Israeli football fans should not come as a surprise. It is the result of Dutch policy of decades as a free haven for Muslims as well as of the European Union (EU)’s weak immigration policy. Last week radical Muslims were attacking Israeli Jews, soon they will attack the rest of the non-Muslim population of the Netherlands and Europe. I am glad I have left the Netherlands!

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Specifically related to Amsterdam, this pogrom also has a direct connection with mayor Femke Halsema, who belongs to a party of Jew haters (‘Groen Links’). Groen Links is known for its pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli views. It is not the first time that Halsema has failed or even ignored Jew hatred in Amsterdam. Earlier this year at the opening of the Holocaust Museum, when Holocaust survivors and Israeli President Herzog were insulted and threatened by pro-Palestinians. And more recently, a 7 October remembrance in Amsterdam, organized by Israel-supporting Christians, was also attacked by the pro-Palestinian Jew haters. In all three cases, the football match, the opening of the Holocaust Museum and the 7 October remembrance, the Amsterdam police was aware of possibly violent actions by pro-Palestinian groupings, but acted weak and insufficient. The failing police action is not only related to mayor Halsema’s pro-Palestinian background. But also, to the appeasing attitude to Muslims of the Amsterdam police force and their hesitance of protecting Jews.

What can we expect from the Dutch Public Prosecutor Office and judges, the Dutch Government and the EU in terms of acting decisively against Muslim radicalism and anti-Semitism? As it is now, in short, nothing! The Dutch Public Prosecutor Office has a reputation of imposing soft penalties. Of the 63 suspects that were arrested Thursday night, only four are still held in custody! Furthermore, it is well-known that the majority of the Dutch judges are affiliated to D66, another Dutch pro-Palestinian / anti-Israel political party.

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Right-wing politician Geert Wilders has formed a government coalition with anti-immigration and pro-Israel standpoints. However, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Veldkamp, follows EU-policy in criticizing Israel for its war in Gaza, as do others in the Dutch Cabinet. I am sure that Wilders – whose coalition partners did not allow him to become Prime Minister (PM) – is not happy with this stance towards Israel. Regarding its anti-immigration priority, the Dutch Government is now realizing that they and other EU-states have transferred too much of their sovereignty to the European Union (EU) in Brussels. They are unable to execute their anti-immigration plans, because they counter EU-laws, to which national policy is subjected. Due to its decades-long ‘welcoming’ policy to Muslims and their extended families, the Netherlands (and most other EU-countries) has to cope now with one million Muslims on a total population of 18 million. Being tied to EU-rules, the only way to stop the influx of Muslims is to leave the EU, as the United Kingdom has done in recent years. But there is no majority in the Dutch Parliament to exit the EU.

Hence, the picture of the Netherlands and the EU in terms of a growing Muslim population and corresponding anti-Semitism is gloomy. Amsterdam and the Dutch government have failed to protect its Jews, now just as in the war, as Dutch King Willem-Alexander has rightly stated towards Israeli President Herzog. Will the pogrom of Amsterdam be a turning-point for Dutch and EU politics, as Dutch PM Schoof claimed? I have my doubts, for years they have ignored wake-up calls like this. It is time that the European (and US) Jews come home, to Israel. That is the best solution!

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