In Move That ‘Reeks of Antisemitism,’ Dutch Universities Order Staff to Disclose Ties With Israeli, Jewish Groups

More than a dozen universities in the Netherlands are ordering staff members to disclose their ties with Israeli and Jewish organizations, following a freedom of information request filed by The Rights Forum, a pro-Palestinian advocacy group.

The list of organizations named in the request included the Central Jewish Board of the Netherlands, Anti-Defamation League, and International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, among others.

Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands Binyomin Jacobs said the The Rights Forum’s request “reeks of antisemitism.”

“The clear inference is that some shadowy Zionist/Jewish cabal is operating in the Dutch university system,” he commented.

“What really concerns me is the number of universities that were so compliant with such a transparently antisemitic request,” he added. “It reminds us that most mayors cooperated during the occupation to pass on the names of their Jewish citizens to the Germans.”

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt — President of the Conference of European Rabbis – stated, “The ironically-named ‘Rights Forum’ has revealed its dystopian, antisemitic core.”

“We urge Dutch universities to use all available means to resist their attempts to stigmatize and incite prejudice against Jews,” he said. “We stand in solidarity with the Dutch Jewish community.”

The Rights Forum was established in 2009 by former Dutch Prime Minister Dries Van Agt with the self-declared mission of promoting a “just and durable solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.”

The group says it aims to “monitor Dutch politics and reveal what positions politicians take regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and “record violations of international law which the parties commit and report on these.”

The 91-year-old Van Agt — who served as the prime minister of the Netherlands from 1977-1982 — has a long record of antisemitic rhetoric and actions. In 2008 he compared Israel to Nazi Germany, and in 2017 he hailed the Dutch Labour party for being “good for the Palestinians despite the strong Jewish lobby,” The Jewish Chronicle reported.

Also, during a stint as justice minister in the 1970s, Van Agt cited his “Aryan roots” as justification for pardoning four Nazi war criminals.