Tolerant of intolerance: Antisemitism grows in the Netherlands

There is no future for Jews in the Netherlands. When a prominent politician said so in 2010, people were shocked. Today, few are shocked so see what it means in practice. This has become the reality of a growing political divide in the Netherlands.

There were times when The Netherlands was celebrated as a tolerant nation, even for Jews. But Dutch society has been tolerant to intolerance, and hatred against Jews, LGBTQ, and other vulnerable groups is growing. Not that nobody has ever spoken out about this problem. Since the 1980s, ordinary Dutch people have been expressing their concerns about antisemitism and multiculturalism. Often accused of being racist or fascist, these concerns have been unaddressed for almost half a century, and a whole society has been conditioned to a dangerous kind of double-think.

Two generations of Dutch politicians, public prosecutors, and police officers have been raised in a climate of tolerance for intolerance. When Amsterdam’s officials are confronted with reports about growing violence and hate-crimes, they pretend to be on holiday. When students ravage the center of Amsterdam in support of Hamas, the local government tolerates it because they don’t want to restrict people’s freedom, fearing a chilling effect. When a comedian and social commentator then makes a sketch about it, six police officers show up the same day, without any concern about free speech. Those same police officers also have the right to refuse their duty, when they are asked to patrol around Jewish schools, shops, and synagogues. Tolerance to the intolerant and selective justice have become common place.

Tolerance to the intolerant is the norm. As the first pogroms in Western Europe are getting started, Dutch officials cannot undo their own brainwashing from the last 50 years. Today, the political block that opposes antisemitism and multiculturalism is bigger than ever in the Netherlands, but that will not be enough. The problems have become endemic and nothing short of a massive population shift will fix this issue. It pains many to see that controversial statements from 15 years ago are reality today. And ironically, those who hate Israel so much have shown the world why Israel must exist.