"The Netherlands is the first in line to make life more complicated for Jewish people," Jigal Markuszower, President of the Jewish Communities in The Netherlands (NIK), told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
The conversation came a week after the Dutch government's implementation of a new ban on the entry of all Jewish-made goods originating in the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. The prohibition additionally applies to goods that are only partially made or produced in the settlements, such as if one ingredient is from the area, even if the product was predominantly made in, say, Tel Aviv.
The ban sparked a diplomatic storm, and reports from Israelis that they experienced extensive luggage inspections at Schiphol airport.
Markuszower acknowledged that not every passenger is checked, and that routine checks are important, but that he nevertheless thinks this specific singling out of Israelis is indicative of a wider problem.
"Every week there's something else that is happening," said Markuszower. "It started when Jewish kids were not allowed to rent a hall where they could celebrate an event and to take out their Israeli flag."
"There's always something else here. It looks like the Netherlands is the first in line to do whatever is necessary to make life more complicated for Jewish people in the Netherlands, for tourists coming from Israel."
Markuszower told the Post that he does not agree with the law, and believe it "came to fruition via Hamas media information."
"They're just repeating Hamas media without really having any knowledge about the subject," he continued. "The [word] genocide is easily repeated, as if that's already the [established] case. It's said by high-end politicians, without them really knowing, really being interested in what happened or didn't happen in Israel and Gaza. The 7th of October is not talked about at all anymore."
From his side as head of NIK, Markuszower said he is trying "from every side, every angle," to maintain good contact with the government.
Large percentage of Jews in Netherlands are Israeli
The relationship with Israel is important for many reasons, not least because many Israelis emigrate to the Netherlands, and it is an attractive place for Israeli companies to settle.
Markuszower said that, at the moment, 35 to 40 percent of Jews living in the Netherlands are Israeli.
"So we're trying to be logical about things that are happening. But the government is not on our side at the moment, the majority are not [in support of] us, everything that comes on the table is against us."
He also cited examples of the radicalization of universities, specifically the recent case of the 22-year-old Palestinian student from the Gaza Strip who has been provisionally suspended from Maastricht University after claiming in an Instagram video that he participated in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
In the since-deleted video, the student was seen watching footage of the attack and pointed at masked men on the screen while saying “this is me."
While it has not been confirmed that the student actually participated in the attack, incidents such as this, and the celebratory attitude towards terrorism against Israel, makes life more difficult for Jewish students, Markuszower said.
"These people are taken in as heroes or victims because they live in a difficult area. The collateral damage is, of course, that if somebody from Gaza was a fanatic, for Jews, it's even more difficult. The West or the European countries are so open and they want to be so democratic and they want to make it possible for everybody who has a difficult time, especially in the Palestinian territories."
Dutch Jewish leader says Netherlands is 'mirroring' Nazi Germany
Markuszower said he is reticent to make comparisons to Nazi Germany, but that he can't ignore "the mirroring" of the 1930s and the current Dutch governments policies towards its Jewish populace.
"At the beginning, it was all little stuff and not so terrible. If you had to be a Jew, you put in your passport that you were Jewish. It went always small steps. It looks like little steps are taken now also."
"I'm not saying it's exactly the same. We have a strong Israel. We will defend ourselves also outside the borders of Israel. But there is some mirroring," he concluded.