The heads of over a dozen Dutch universities have ordered their staff to record their ties to Israeli and Jewish organizations, in accordance with a request from a pro-Palestinian and antisemitic group.
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The universities issued the order in response to a request by The Rights Forum, a pro-Palestinians group last month.
In its request, forum director Gerard Jonkman asked for documents or information on "institutional ties to universities, institutions, and businesses in Israel and with organizations that propagate support for the State of Israel."
In practice, such organizations include Israeli aerospace and defense firm Elbit Systems, Magen David Adom emergency services, Taglit-Birthright Israel, the Simon Weisenthal Center, the Anti-Defamation League, and Stand With Us, among others.
Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands Binyomin Jacobs, who also heads the European Jewish Association's committee to combat antisemitism, said: "This is a demand that reeks of antisemitism and is reminiscent of demands Dutch mayors provide information on Jews to German occupiers during the Holocaust."
Jacobs emphasized, "I am very familiar with The Rights Forum, and it must be made clear: They want to mark every Israeli and every Jew at universities in the Netherlands to promote the distorted idea that some kind of shadowy, Zionist/Jewish junta is running the Dutch university system. It reeks of antisemitism, but it doesn't surprise me given this group's reputation."
He continued: "What really worries me is the number of universities that will answer such a transparently antisemitic request. It reminds us that during the country's occupation, most mayors in the Netherlands cooperated and gave the names of Jewish residents of their cities to the Nazis. It must be emphasized that there is very little difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Throughout my many years in the Netherlands, I rarely recall such a toxic environment for Jews. It is a shocking submission to the demands of a group that is openly hostile to Israel, which is the world's only Jewish state."
Hanna Luden, the director of the Center for Information and Documentation Israel, a pro-Israel lobby, said: "According to the custom in the Netherlands, the request itself is legitimate, although the letter that was sent reeks of [antisemitism].
She said, "We are surprised and disappointed that the university heads do not see the problem with the questions being asked and the intentional mixing of Jews and Israel. The result is one of intimidation, and it has led university employees themselves to call us and share their distress and sense of insecurity to express this discomfort at the universities themselves. The biggest problem is that it seems the universities have accepted it, and this by definition, raises concerns."
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