From Holland with Love:The Myth of a “True” Friend

My love for Israel isn’t up for debate. Israel was my first love, and it will be my last. I lived in the Middle East in 1978 and 1979. Back then, every Israeli I met thought the Dutch were their best friends in Europe. And honestly? Who could blame them? The Netherlands looked like a loyal friend — but I already felt, even as a young child, something was rotten beneath that orange-painted surface.

I’m a High Sensitive Person, cursed or blessed — who knows — with the ability to feel what’s left unsaid. And let me tell you: the Dutch “love” for Israel has always been cheap, superficial, and transactional. Born out of guilt, never out of the heart.

1940s–1950s: Guilt-Wrapped Sympathy

After the Holocaust and the Nazi occupation — when 75% of Dutch Jews were slaughtered while their neighbors closed the curtains and looked the other way — the Netherlands jumped at the opportunity to support Israel in 1948. Why? Because it made them feel better. Supporting Israel was a way to wash off the shame of betrayal. It wasn’t love — it was damage control. A public relations facelift for a country that failed its Jewish citizens when it mattered.

1960s–1970s: The Naïve Years

In the decades that followed, the Netherlands played the role of Israel’s “special friend.” During the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, the Dutch waved Israeli flags, let US military planes use their airbases, and acted like moral heroes. What they really wanted? To be the teacher’s pet of the West. The “goody two-shoes” of international politics. Israelis believed it was genuine. They were naïve. I was there. I saw it. And I knew better.

 1980s–1990s: The Shift

Then came the 80s and 90s. The mood turned. Suddenly, Israel became the problem child. The Dutch government and media found a new religion: moral relativism. Israel was criticized for defending itself, settlements in Judea and Samaria were demonized, and the eternal Dutch instinct kicked in — side with the biggest, loudest, angriest mob. The growing Arab influence, the rise of the global left, and the oil-soaked politics of cowardice turned the Netherlands into a fair-weather friend. Again.

2000s–Today: Hypocrisy on Display

Today, Dutch society is torn. Leftist activists and opportunistic politicians wrap themselves in Palestinian flags while tweeting from smartphones made with Israeli technology. The government criticizes Israel’s every move while profiting from Israeli medical innovations, cybersecurity, and high-tech progress. It’s moral bankruptcy dressed up as virtue.

When Israel fights for its survival — like it has for the past year and a half since Hamas, a terrorist organization, launched its cowardly war — where is the Netherlands? Summoning ambassadors, wagging fingers, and clapping for “freedom of speech” when a man in a Hamas uniform burns an Israeli flag on Dam Square. No criminal offense, says the Public Prosecutor. Freedom of expression. But when Maccabi supporters are hunted down like animals through the streets of Amsterdam? Deafening silence.

Enough Is Enough, Stop The Hate

On April 28th, we organize Enough = Enough: Stop the Hate (toward Israel). I have no idea how many people will show up. I don’t care. If it changes one mind in this swamp of opportunism, it’s worth it. Throw one stone in the river — the flow will never be the same.

To the Netherlands: Stop pretending. Stop hiding behind clichés. If you love Israel, stand with it when it matters. If you don’t, at least have the decency to say it.

Am Yisrael Chai.