Prime Minister Rutte sees a worrying increase in anti-Semitism, asks society for help

“Things are really going in the wrong direction,” the Prime Minister said on Thursday before the Council of Ministers. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives strongly appealed to the outgoing cabinet to take a firmer stand against recent anti-Semitic incidents.

During Question Time, Fleur Gräper-van Koolwijk, State Secretary for Culture (D66), was given the opportunity to set a limit, but according to the House she did not do so forcefully enough.

The immediate reason was the disruption of Lenny Kuhr’s performance on Sunday. Pro-Palestinian activists interrupted a performance by the Jewish singer. Because she has expressed her support for military action in Gaza, activists see her as a propagandist of the Israeli government.

Rutte insisted that people with views on Israel or Gaza should not bother other people with a Jewish background. “And you’re definitely not going to use violence or swear at people.”

Kuhr has filed a complaint of libel and slander. Kuhr’s husband, Rob Frank, previously resigned de Volkskrant cannot separate the demonstration from his wife’s Jewish background. ‘Because we are Jewish, we receive all kinds of hate mail and messages that Lenny’s grandchildren should die. I don’t think this was an isolated incident.’

The National Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism Eddo Verdoner has noticed a worrying trend. ‘Apparently these activists require every Dutch Jew to speak out against Israel’s policies, otherwise you are a terrorist.’

‘warp and woof’

In the Telegraph the Central Jewish Consultation (CJO), the umbrella organization for Jewish advocates, expressed concerns on Thursday about the increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents. “It is rife and we have had enough of it,” said Chairman Hertzberger, who calls on the cabinet to take action. ‘Failure to intervene can lead to physical violence.’

Although the government finds the feelings of fear and insecurity ‘unacceptable’, it is difficult to come up with additional measures. Only where the boundaries of criminal law are exceeded, in the form of threats, racism or violence, can intervention be taken.

“We can do what is necessary with the police and the judiciary,” Rutte said. ‘But this is not a case where you can say: what is The Hague doing? We have one of the most beautiful open countries in the world. This includes addressing each other about this type of behavior and declaring it unacceptable if someone starts addressing or abusing someone else because of their Jewish background.’

Culture under fire

In recent times, cultural institutions and venues that hosted Jewish artists have been the target of pro-Palestinian protests several times. For example, an art cinema in Maastricht was blocked because of the showing of an Israeli feature film. Performances by the Jerusalem Quartet were also disrupted in Amsterdam and The Hague.

During Question Time, the House of Representatives called on the cultural sector to do everything it can to allow performances by Jewish artists to go ahead instead of halting ticket sales. The government agrees with that call.

State Secretary Gräper-van Koolwijk will discuss this with the cultural sector next week to see whether additional measures are necessary.