“How would you react if I would say, ‘I embrace the Nazism of Hitler-Germany?’”
These were the words spoken by Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, the chief rabbi of the Netherlands on Tuesday, during a presentation at the doorstep of the national desk of GreenLeft (GroenLinks, the leftist Green Party in the Netherlands) in Utrecht.
Around 150 Christian Friends of Israel in the Netherlands and Jewish leaders were protesting a controversial motion made by the GreenLeft party last month legitimizing the boycott of the Jewish state Israel.
“A serious mistake, that encourages anti-Semitism,” the rabbi said. “But just like the German ‘Autobahn’ is only a small part of the murderous Nazi-time, the boycott of products from Israel is only a small part of the goal of BDS. BDS stands for the destruction of Israel, not only the boycott of a few products from the so-called occupied territories”.
Roger van Oordt, director of Christian Friends of Israel, said that the GreenLeft calls BDS a “legitimate means in a justified battle,” that is the first step toward the destruction of the State of Israel.
Following the demonstration, Jacobs and Van Oordt were invited for a conversation with GreenLeft chairman Jeroen Postma and national director Jessie Bokhoven.
In addition to the public effort, Christians for Israel submitted a statement to the GreenLeft in which it made clear the dangers of BDS and asked the GreenLeft to distance itself from the BDS motion.
“We hope that GreenLeft will think about it and stay far away from anti-Semitism,” van Oordt said.