Israhell's involvement in Dutch universities exposed

[yankeedoodle]

Dutch universities order staff to reveal their ties to Jewish and Israeli groups
https://www.jta.org/2022/02/10/global/dutch-universities-order-staff-to-reveal-their-ties-to-jewish-and-israeli-groups

At the behest of a pro-Palestinian organization whose critics say is antisemitic, administrators at more than a dozen Dutch universities are instructing their staff to list their interactions with Israeli and Jewish organizations.

The order followed a request sent last month by The Rights Forum, a pro-Palestinian advocacy group, to the offices of multiple universities. The universities are gathering the information because the group's request was certified as what is known in the Netherlands as a WOB request, meaning a query certified by the country's prosecution service under a 1991 freedom of information law and binding on public or state-funded organizations.

It is unclear whether the universities will complete the full request by passing on the information to The Rights Forum.

In the request, Gerard Jonkman, director of The Rights Forum, wrote that under the WOB request, he is seeking documents or information on "Institutional ties with Israel universities, institutions and businesses and with organizations that propagate support for the State of Israel."

Among the dozens of entities Jonkman listed are Elbit, the Israeli weapons and defense systems producer, Christians for Israel, and a right-wing, pro-Israel Dutch-Jewish association.

But the list also includes mainstream Jewish entities from the Netherlands and beyond that do not define themselves as Israeli or solely focused on Israel.

Those groups include the Anti-Defamation League, the Central Jewish Board of the Netherlands, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, B'nai B'rith and even the office of the Dutch government's own National Coordinator for Fighting Antisemitism, which is headed by Edo Verdonner, who is Jewish.

Reports about the list in NIW, the Dutch-Jewish weekly, and other publications prompted strongly-worded condemnations by Jewish groups and community leaders against The Rights Forum. The group was co-founded by Dries van Agt, a former prime minister of the Netherlands who has often been accused of spreading antisemitic ideas (including, in 2017, by The Central Jewish Board of the Netherlands), though he says this allegation is meant to silence his criticism of Israel.

"The clear inference is that some shadowy Zionist/Jewish cabal is operating in the Dutch university system. This reeks of antisemitism, but it comes as no surprise to me given this group's reputation," Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomim Jacobs said in a statement Wednesday.

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

The Rights Forum has not immediately replied to a request by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency to respond to the criticism.

Van Agt recently accused Israeli settlers of routinely poisoning their Palestinian neighbors, prompting critics to say he was reviving Medieval antisemitic blood libels.

In 2008, he compared Israel to Nazi Germany and spoke at a rally in Rotterdam that featured a televised address by a leader of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel and others.

Van Agt has also said that the Jews "should have been given a piece of land" in Germany instead of Israel. In 2017, he praised the Dutch Labour party for being "good for the Palestinians despite the strong Jewish lobby" in its ranks, according to the Central Jewish Board of the Netherlands. And as the country's justice minister in the 1970s, he cited his "Aryan" roots in explaining his plan to pardon four Nazi war criminals due to health reasons.

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Didn't take long.  Less than a week.

Dutch universities pause investigations into their ties with Jewish and Israeli groups
https://www.jta.org/2022/02/16/global/dutch-universities-pause-compliance-with-request-for-information-on-ties-with-jewish-israeli-groups

A group of 14 public Dutch universities are suspending their investigations into their ties with Israeli and Jewish entities.

The Association of Universities in the Netherlands, a trade group that includes the University of Amsterdam, made the announcement Friday in a joint statement following an outcry among Jewish groups.  https://www.universiteitenvannederland.nl/nl_NL/nieuwsbericht.html/nieuwsbericht/825-p-strong-aanvullende-verklaring-inzake-wob-verzoek-the-rights-forum-strong-p

The Rights Forum, a pro-Palestinian group founded by a former Dutch prime minister who critics call antisemitic, had issued a freedom of information request, or WOB in the Netherlands, on the topic. The group asked for documents or information on "institutional ties with Israel universities, institutions and businesses and with organizations that propagate support for the State of Israel."

"The handling and distribution of the Wob request has led to feelings of unrest and insecurity within universities. We regret this," the group of universities wrote in an additional statement on Tuesday. "We stand for a safe educational, research and working climate for all our employees and students. We take the signals that this has come into question as a result of our approach to the Wob request and confirm that a careful assessment of the request is necessary."

They did not give a timeframe but noted they will be legally obligated to respond to the request.

"This consideration must be done carefully and will therefore take some time. As soon as more is known about this, we will communicate this via a message," the statement read.

In the WOB request, Gerard Jonkman, director of The Rights Forum, identified a series of Jewish groups of interest, including Christians for Israel; the Israeli weapons and defense systems producer Elbit; and a right-wing, pro-Israel Dutch-Jewish association.

But the list also includes mainstream Jewish entities from the Netherlands and elsewhere that do not define themselves as Israeli or solely focused on Israel, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Central Jewish Board of the Netherlands, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, B'nai B'rith and even the office of the Dutch government's own National Coordinator for Fighting Antisemitism, which is headed by Edo Verdonner, who is Jewish.

The Central Jewish Board has called the request antisemitic and urged universities to refuse to comply with it in a statement Tuesday. Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs compared it to the conduct of Nazi collaborators.

The Rights Forum has not responded to a request for comment by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The group was founded by Dries van Agt, a former prime minister of the Netherlands whom the Central Jewish Board has called an antisemite. Van Agt has dismissed this as an attempt to delegitimize his criticisms of Israel.

He recently accused Israeli settlers of routinely poisoning their Palestinian neighbors, and in 2008 he compared Israel to Nazi Germany.

Van Agt, who was prime minister between 1977 and 1982, has also said that the Jews "should have been given a piece of land" in Germany instead of Israel. And as the country's justice minister in the 1970s, he cited his "Aryan" roots in explaining his plan to pardon four Nazi war criminals due to health reasons.

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Dutch universities to ignore query on Jewish group ties, but may divulge on Israel
Chief rabbi 'relieved' by decision but concerned it took universities two weeks and vociferous protests by Dutch Jews and their allies to respond to pro-Palestinian group's demand
https://www.timesofisrael.com/dutch-universities-to-ignore-query-on-jewish-group-ties-but-may-divulge-on-israel/

A group of public universities in the Netherlands said that they will ignore a controversial freedom of information query on their ties with Jewish groups, but they appeared willing in principle to disclose their connections with Israeli entities.

The Universities of the Netherlands, an umbrella group for the country's 14 public universities, released their latest statement on the drama on Monday, following a recent query by The Rights Forum, a pro-Palestinian organization whose founder has long fought accusations of antisemitism.

The query "targets a specific group of citizens, including staff, students and alumni of our universities, creating feelings of unsafety, injustice and discrimination. We will not cooperate with this," the statement reads.

The Rights Forum had asked for documents or information on "institutional ties with Israel universities, institutions and businesses and with organizations that propagate support for the State of Israel."

But it also named non-Israeli Jewish organizations from the Netherlands and beyond, including the Anti-Defamation League; the Central Jewish Board of the Netherlands; the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; B'nai B'rith International; and the office of the Dutch government's own National Coordinator for Fighting Antisemitism, which is headed by Edo Verdonner, who is Jewish.

In response to that part of the Wob — the Dutch name for the freedom of information request — the university group's statement added: "We strongly reject unequal treatment on the basis of religion or origin. We stand for the safety of the working environment for all our employees and students and for being an academic community that does not exclude anyone and in which no distinction is made on the basis of religion or origin."

The group said it will not respond to "this part of the request," but did not comment on the part concerning Israeli entities.

Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he was "relieved" by the latest statement, but worried by the fact that it took the universities two weeks and vociferous protests by Dutch Jews and their allies to reach their conclusion.

"The fact is that in Holland, antisemitism or anti-Zionism are extremely strong," he said. "The proof: It took time and pressure to convince the universities not to join this unacceptable and manifestly antisemitic request."

The university group first announced the Wob request on February 11 and previously said on February 15 that it was pausing its internal investigations on the matter because it had "led to feelings of unrest and insecurity within universities."

The Rights Forum was founded by former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt, who has compared Israel to Nazi Germany and recently claimed, apparently without proof, that Israeli settlers routinely poison their Palestinian neighbors.

The Rights Forum has not responded to a request for a comment on the query.