Racism and xenophobia will not make Jews safer
On Monday May 13th 2024, a government delegation consisting of Prime Minister Rutte and ministers Dijkgraaf (Education), Van Gennip (Social Affairs) and Yesilgöz (Justice) met with a number of organizations in the Catshuis in Den Haag to discuss the increase in antisemitism in the Netherlands. Following this meeting, outgoing minister Yesilgöz expressed interest in an approach to combating antisemitism inspired by German policy.
The approach in question is known as the ‘antisemitism test’. This has been proposed to be added as part of the German naturalization process. In order to be granted citizenship, new immigrants must pledge to ‘respect Jewish life’.
Oy Vey is horrified by Yesilgöz’s enthusiasm for this ‘German model’. We see this as a bold-faced attempt to deflect the blame for rising antisemitism onto migrants. It weaponizes Jewish fears for their safety against other minority groups. We refuse to be instrumentalized in this way.
Safety for Jews will not be achieved through racist and xenophobic policy.
An effective approach to antisemitism must be based on a multidimensional analysis of the problem. The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service AIVD concluded in 2021 that antisemitism from far-right groups is a growing threat that needs to be addressed.
We also hear openly racist and Islamophobic parties claiming to be at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism. They frame antisemitism as something that all but exclusively comes from Muslim circles. This way, concerns about Jewish safety are used as an excuse to cast suspicion on migrants and other minorities.
But let’s be frank: European history clearly demonstrates that the greatest threat to Jews was not posed by Muslims or ‘foreigners’, but by groups that saw the Jews as invaders, as vermin to be exterminated. By pinning the blame for antisemitism exclusively on migrants, centuries of Christian, nationalist and racist antisemitism are carelessly but deliberately swept under the rug.
In a worldview in which all people are not equal, regardless of their background, Jews will also always continue to be vulnerable.
Meanwhile, in Germany, the debate on antisemitism has already turned into a dangerous slippery slope. Criticism of Israel is ruthlessly suppressed, and as a result, the rights of peaceful protestors and minorities, including Jews, are increasingly restricted.
We saw this recently when the bank accounts of the Jewish group Jüdische Stimme (Jewish Voice) were frozen in an attempt to paralyze them. Importing a similar situation to the Netherlands would be detrimental and counterproductive.
This kind of repression doesn’t actually make Jews any safer.
When any and all criticism of Israel is unequivocally equated to antisemitism, Jews and Israel are inadvertently made out to be synonymous.
When migrants are blamed as the cause of antisemitism, minorities are pitted against each other.
When antisemitism from far-right groups is ignored, instead of being fought, we are actively endangered.
How, then, do we fight antisemitism?
First and foremost, it’s crucial that representatives of the entire Jewish community are given a seat at the discussion table. Currently, there are only a number of Jewish organizations and individuals who are given the opportunity to share their views with policymakers. They are invited to speak for the entire community, but they do not represent the diversity of perspectives that we have within our community. As a result, the perspective on how to combat antisemitism most effectively remains limited.
Moreover, anyone who is serious about fighting antisemitism has to fight all forms of racism in tandem. The new government, formed with the racist and Islamophobic PVV, will not make Jews any safer. The new coalition agreement is only going to deteriorate the situation.
We call on all parties to combat antisemitism together with islamophobia, anti-Blackness, anti-Asian racism, antiziganism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia.
Read Oy Vey’s opinion piece in NRC:
That Jews are used by right-wing parties as a stick to beat other minorities does not make us any safer, write Lilit Zeltsburg, Jelle Zijlstra, Eva de Haan and Lievnath Faber.
“Parties that are serious about fighting anti-Semitism must be willing to stand up for all groups that face discrimination and fight all forms of racism with equal vigor. The new coalition agreement, drafted with the openly Islamophobic and racist PVV, promises only regression in that regard.”