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by Ben Cohen
Far right Israeli politicians Itamar Ben Gvir (l) and Bezalel Smotrich (r) are seen at a Knesset session. Photo: Reuters/Abir Sultan
In a rare expression of dissent, the leading Jewish advocacy organization in the Netherlands has emphasized its concern at the presence of far-right ministers in the new Israeli government announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.
“Our tireless fight against antisemitism means that we firmly reject other forms of hate as well – including when necessary in our dealings with representatives of the Israeli government,” a statement on Thursday from the Amsterdam-based Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) declared.
“We reject the inflammatory rhetoric used by some members of the governing coalition,” the statement continued. “This rhetoric is not representative of Israel’s democratic values, its role as a homeland for all Jews, and its relentless quest for peace. We trust that this rhetoric will not shape the new administration’s domestic and foreign policies.”
The inclusion in the Israeli cabinet of hardliners Itamar Ben-Gvir of the Otzma Yehudit party and Bezalel Smotrich from the Religious Zionism party has sent shockwaves through diaspora Jewish communities, particularly in the United States, where fears of a rupture with the Jewish state at a time when antisemitism worldwide is surging are growing. CIDI is one of the first European groups to echo such concerns.
Ben-Gvir will serve as security minister, with authority over the police, while Smotrich’s party will have control over planning in the West Bank, giving it wide powers over the lives of Palestinians and opening the door to an expansion of Israeli settlements in the contested territory.
The new government also rests on the support of Avi Maoz, the sole member in the Knesset for the right-wing Noam party, which campaigns on a homophobic platform to roll back the rights of Israel’s LGBTQ+ community.
Founded in 1974 by Bob Levisson, a survivor of the Nazi Westerbork concentration camp, CIDI has vocally advocated for Israel and for the rights of the Dutch Jewish community in media and policy circles. Its statement underlined that the organization would “continue to be committed to fair information about Israel and the context in which the country operates in a still unsafe and hostile Middle East.”
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