Former EU commissioner Frits Bolkestein's advice to recognizable Jews in the Netherlands to leave for the US or Israel caused quite an uproar two weeks ago. Even Israeli media picked up the story about Bolkestein's remarks, which were highlighted in a new book titled “Dutch Jewry in the clueless Netherlands.” Bolkestein later clarified that his remarks were meant as a wake up call in light of the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe.
The author of the book, Manfred Gerstenfeld (JCPA) is a Dutch Israeli expert on European anti-Semitism. He wrote the book because he believes that the treatment of Jews in the Netherlands provides insight to the society as a whole. He also says that the situation in the Netherlands mirrors the problems of the Jews in other parts of Europe.
However, a largely unnoticed remark by Bolkestein about the link between the rise in anti-Semitism and the Israeli-Arab conflict could offer more insight to the root cause of the current problem.
The year 2000 marked the beginning of the second intifada and ever since most Dutch media have conducted a relentless disinformation campaign about Israel. It is this campaign that has changed the whole climate in which the debate about Israel in the Netherlands is taking place. In the resulting environment, Dutch Jews are held responsible for events taking place in Israel and ultimately it is no longer taboo to make anti-Semitic comments.
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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4006155,00.html
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