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The Netherlands Shows Her True Colors Once Again
A view shows the Peace Palace, which houses the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in The Hague, Netherlands, April 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
I never thought I would write these words, but I have lost respect for my own country. I say that with sadness, not anger. For years, I believed in the Dutch reputation for fairness, nuance, and moral clarity. Today, that image has crumbled. The way Dutch media covers Israel is not just biased; it is intellectually lazy, historically empty, and socially dangerous. Worst of all, it fuels a rising wave of antisemitism in a nation that should know exactly where that road leads.
The most recent example came from Trouw, a newspaper that once claimed to value journalistic integrity. It published an uncritical article praising the views of Ta-Nehisi Coates, who labeled Israel an “apartheid state.” That accusation was presented to readers as if it were self-evident truth, not an opinion. No context. No history. No pushback. No mention of equal rights for all Arab citizens. No mentions of terrorism, of facts on the ground, of the repeated rejection of peace initiatives, or of the lives Israelis have been forced to defend from relentless violence. It was a piece of writing that replaced journalism with activism, and knowledge with slogans.
If Dutch journalists insist on making comparisons, then honesty requires them to explain what real apartheid actually looked like. South Africa enforced legally defined racial categories, stripped millions of their citizenship, banned interracial marriage, separated schools, hospitals, beaches, toilets, buses, universities, and neighborhoods. Black South Africans were barred from voting, from certain jobs, and from owning land in most of the country. They were forced into impoverished “homelands,” denied freedom of movement, and subject to routine torture and violence by the state. None of this resembles Israel. Not even remotely.
But the truth no longer seems to matter in Dutch newsrooms. Nuance has disappeared. Context has vanished. Emotion has replaced evidence, and ideology has replaced inquiry. Israel is guilty by default, while its critics are treated as prophets whose words require no verification.
The Dutch media’s relentless one-sidedness reveals something deeper and more troubling than mere ignorance. It reflects a renewed comfort with blaming Jews for the world’s problems, a habit with a long and ugly history in Europe. When articles like the one in Trouw are circulated without challenge, they do not educate the public; they radicalize it. They normalize anti-Jewish hostility. They transform a complex conflict into a morality play, where Israelis are cast as colonial villains and Palestinians as blameless victims, regardless of reality.
As a Dutch citizen, I am ashamed. Ashamed of the intellectual laziness in our press. Ashamed of the moral posturing that ignores Jewish suffering. Ashamed of how quickly we have forgotten our responsibility to truth after the darkest chapter in European history. And ashamed that my country, once known for moral clarity, now prefers fashionable outrage over honest reporting.
Israel is not perfect. No nation is. But the apartheid accusation is not journalism. It is propaganda. And when the Dutch media amplifies it, they are not holding power to account — but are helping to spread a lie with real consequences for Jewish communities and for the possibility of peace.
It is time for Dutch journalists to rediscover integrity. And it is time for readers to demand it.
It is also time, more than ever, to stand up for Israel, because truth still matters.
Sabine Sterk is CEO of the NGO Time To Stand Up For Israel.
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French Authorities Detain Two Minors Suspected of Plotting Terror Attacks on ‘Israeli Targets’
Illustrative: Police officers work after police shot dead an armed man earlier who set fire to the city’s synagogue in Rouen, France, May 17, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
French authorities have launched an investigation into a group suspected of planning attacks and two minors have been charged and placed in pre-trial detention as a result of it, France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said on Monday.
In a statement issued after a report in French media, the office also said that since the start of 2025, a total of 20 minors have faced terrorism-related charges.
Media outlet Franceinfo reported that the two minors had been planning an attack on “Israeli targets,” citing a source close to the investigation. The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office did not immediately confirm this in its statement.
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Joel F. Brown named next Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Forward Association
Joel F. Brown has been named the next Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Forward Association, the nonprofit entity that publishes the Forward, America’s most influential and widely read nationwide Jewish publication. He has served as a member of the Forward board and of the Forward Association for 10 years.
Brown most recently served with the Chicago-based law firm Goldberg Kohn as a principal in its Commercial Finance Group. He has written and lectured on a wide variety of finance-related legal topics and was named one of the 2021 Best Lawyers in America honorees in Banking and Finance law. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and of New York University School of Law.
Since retiring from the practice of law in 2024, Brown has been pursuing a Masters Degree in Jewish Studies from the Spertus Institute. Brown also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, has served as President of Am Yisrael Conservative Congregation (Northfield, Illinois) and is affiliated with the Shalom Hartman Institute.
Brown said, “I am honored to assume this important role in supporting the Forward’s ongoing storied history of reporting on the Jewish American experience in all its diversity. Over the next few years, I expect the Board will help guide the Forward in its mission to cover the full spectrum of Jewish American politics, culture and religion, with an emphasis on reaching new audiences, and in particular younger audiences.”
About the Forward
The Forward is America’s leading voice in Jewish journalism, delivering incisive coverage of the issues, ideas and institutions that matter to American Jews.
The Forward‘s independent, non-ideological perspective on world and national news, and its unparalleled coverage of Jewish arts, culture and opinion, have made it the most influential and widely read nationwide Jewish publication today, and it has been honored with the most journalism awards of any Jewish media organization.
The Forward reaches more than 100 million viewers annually across its website, social media, email newsletters, events and podcasts. The Forward‘s free e-newsletters include the Forwarding the News morning briefing and others highlighting areas of special interest like Yiddish and antisemitism.
Leading outlets turn to the Forward‘s journalists for analysis and interviews, including The New York Times, CNN, Fox, NPR, Politico, Haaretz and The Washington Post. The Forward has been archived by the U.S. Library of Congress and named one of the top nonprofit news sites by Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab.
The post Joel F. Brown named next Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Forward Association appeared first on The Forward.
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Eurovision Faces Major Test as Countries Weigh Israel’s Participation
Construction work is ongoing in the main hall of Wiener Stadthalle the venue of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
The Eurovision Song Contest faces a “watershed moment” on Thursday when members of the body that organizes the contest may vote on whether Israel can compete in 2026, as some nations threaten to withdraw if it is not excluded due to the Gaza war.
European Broadcasting Union members will convene to discuss new rules designed to prevent governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to influence voters after controversy this year over Israel’s second-place win.
If members are not convinced the rules are adequate, there will be a vote on participation, the EBU said, without naming Israel specifically.
Public broadcasters from Slovenia, Ireland, Spain, and the Netherlands have all threatened to boycott the event, scheduled for May in Austria, if Israel is allowed to take part, citing concern over the Palestinian death toll in Gaza, where Israeli forces had been waging a military campaign against the ruling terrorist group Hamas until a recently implemented ceasefire.
EUROVISION AIMS TO BE NON-POLITICAL
The televised annual celebration of pop music, watched by around 150 million viewers worldwide, aims to be non-political, but the Gaza war has embroiled it in controversy. A boycott by some of the competition’s biggest European backers, including Spain, risks a major drop in audience numbers and potential sponsorship.
This year, critics accused Israel of unfairly boosting the second-place finish of its entrant Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists that triggered the conflict. Israel has not responded to these accusations but frequently argues it has faced a global smear campaign.
“We very much hope the package of measures will assure members that we have taken strong action to protect the neutrality and impartiality of the Song Contest,” the EBU said.
Eurovision expert Paul Jordan, who did a PhD on the contest, said it was a “watershed moment” for the competition.
“This is a real crisis point for Eurovision and the EBU … I think it probably has to go to a vote,” Jordan said.
Ben Robertson from fan site ESC Insight noted the potential impact of a loss in audience, but added without Israeli inclusion, Eurovision risks becoming more isolated.
NORWAY CALLS PROPOSED CHANGES ‘PROMISING’
The Israeli foreign ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Luxembourg’s RTL broadcaster backed the proposed changes, while Norway’s NRK broadcaster described the EBU’s signal of major change as “promising.”
If a vote against Israel were successful, Germany would probably withdraw and not broadcast the contest, a broadcasting industry source told Reuters. German broadcaster ARD did not comment. Austrian host broadcaster ORF wants Israel to compete.
Sources within Israeli broadcaster KAN told Reuters it believed discussions about excluding Israel were unjustified, asserting that KAN was in full compliance with EBU rules. It also noted KAN’s support for Israeli acts that have delivered what they described as memorable Eurovision performances.
Russia has been excluded from Eurovision since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.