« The Israeli government couldn’t have done anything better, » says Cidi’s 50-year anniversary

In fact, the information and documentation Israel already existed for fifty years in 2023. But then they did not come to an anniversary celebration. After the Hamas attack of October 7, the pro-Israel lobby group was « really in the trenches, » said CIDI director Naomi Mestrum. But if they can continue life in Israel, she concludes, the CIDI can also celebrate something.

She stands for a sold -out room at the Royal Institute for the Tropics (KIT) in Amsterdam. Among those present are people like Jessica Durlacher, Barbara Barend, Hans Teeuwen, Fidan Ekiz, Wierd Duk, Maarten Boudry. From the outside, the sirens of the group of demonstrators sound through her speech where the visitors had to visit. « Children’s murderers, » they chant.

Various Pro-Palestinian organizations criticized the guest list in advance, including the Israeli former Air Force General Amos Yadlin. She the kit called on to cancel the event because they point out the lobby of the CIDI as a reason that « Dutch media and politics only dares to use the right word: genocide ». In the run-up to the red-line demonstration in The Hague, demonstrators have daubed the door of the kit with red paint. ANP news agency reports that two people have been arrested.

No, criticism of Israel does not have to be anti -Semitic, Mestrum explains above the sound of the activists. As an example, she mentions that the CIDI believes that statements of the extreme right-wing Israeli ministers Gezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir were ‘indiscriminate’. Smotrich said that « Gaza will be completely destroyed in a few months, » Ben-Gvir argues for expulsion of Palestinians and occupation of the West Bank. But according to Mesrum, Israel criticism is often a vehicle for anti-Semitism. And that is why she also wants to « focus even more on lobbying behind the scenes and combating online anti -Semitism. »

Congratulation video

That the message of the CIDI finds in politics appears to be this day. Minister Mona Keijzer (BBB) ​​is in the room, just like MPs such as Diederik Boomsma (NSC) and Ulysse Ellian (VVD). And in Tandem with a video light from Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog, Prime Minister Dick Schoof appears in a congratulation video, in which he expresses his « great appreciation » for the CIDI on behalf of the Dutch government. All hostages must be released, he explains, and the blockage of help in Gaza must be lifted. Because of the suffering that « beyond the concept. »

One of the first lectures immediately harvests the greatest success: Loay Alshaef, a Saudian who mainly warns of the ‘radical Muslims’ in Europe. « Why do so many Muslims want to come to the Netherlands? To assimilate? Or to dominate? » He gets a standing ovation.

After him, Ayaan Hirsi Ali speaks, for the first time in ten years the former VVD MP is back in the Netherlands. She is afraid that the country will have lost its « farmer’s sense. » But she is optimistic about the future of Israel. It may be easy to get gloomy, she says, from the demonization of Israel through the media, but she sees Islamist forces in the region shrink. She really gets the room when she talks about « the void on the left » that is « filled by Islamism. »

People are a bit crazy, through all the propaganda. They think genocide takes place

During lunch, NSC MP Diederik Boomsma tells him that he got a push from protesters upon arrival. « People are a bit crazy, because of all the propaganda. They think that genocide is taking place. » Other attendees discuss the news about the demonstration in The Hague. « It gets out of hand, already 70,000 protesters! »

The big star comes last. Douglas Murray, the British journalist who recently joined Trump’s plan to bring the Gaza Strip under American control, gets a standing ovation upon arrival. During the interview, where there is a lot of laughter, the extraction to the mainstream media can count on a lot of applause. “Read you The Guardian also? » « Yes, reading lies is important. »

The Israeli government could have « couldn’t do anything better, » explains Murray, the country simply suffers from a lack of empathy of the world. The battle in Gaza is one between good and evil, between the « death cult » that he discerns in the Palestinians who once chosen Hamas, versus the so -called « appreciation for the life » of the Israelis. According to Murray, all criticism of Jews is in 100 percent of the fallen projection of the prosecutor’s guilt.

Murrays hard words about Mayor Halsema – « a total failure » – can count on « Bravo! » And if Murray suggests that Pro-Palestina demonstrators with a visa should be picked up and deported, following an American example, the room bursts out in cheers and cheers.

To share

Mail the editors