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I Accuse: The Collapse of Moral Integrity in the Netherlands
March 29, 2025, Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands: A pro-Palestinian demonstrator burns a hand-fashioned Israeli flag. Photo: James Petermeier/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect
On May 13, 2025, upon arriving to teach at my university, I was confronted by demonstrators aggressively chanting slogans such as: “Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want no Zionists here,” and even more threateningly, “With our blood, with our soul, we will redeem you, Gaza.”
As I attempted to document this explicit hostility by filming it with my phone, senior university administrators and security officials intervened — not to protect me, but to publicly pressure me into deleting my recordings. They falsely insisted I had no legal right to document this open intimidation toward Jews and Zionists. When I refused, they demanded that I physically leave — not for my safety, but explicitly because demonstrators refused to pass by me, unwilling even to tolerate my presence. Again, I refused, unwilling to legitimize antisemitic exclusion. I am a human being, it is my workplace, I have the right to exist.
Standing completely isolated and publicly humiliated, I was openly attacked by colleagues siding with the demonstrators. One colleague loudly declared explicitly for demonstrators to hear: “These are autonomous students demonstrating for a very important cause, and you’re here only to provoke trouble — disgusting.” Another colleague repeatedly insisted, “They want you to stop!” When I calmly replied that I understood but would not comply, the colleague persisted: “If you don’t stop, they won’t leave.” To this, I responded: “I do not negotiate with terrorists.”
Students shouted accusations at me, openly suggesting I was being paid to film them. A senior security official, with a student triumphantly nodding beside her, explicitly asserted: “It is okay to say this about Zionists because Zionism is a conviction.” Thus, my colleagues validated antisemitic hostility, accusing me of “refusing to cooperate with de-escalation,” perversely shifting responsibility onto me — the victim.
When I announced my intention to formally report this intimidation, campus security — on whom I depend for protection due to ongoing threats — informed me in that case that I would stand entirely alone against the institutional establishment. With a nauseating feeling of fear in my stomach and my blood sugar rising to extreme highs — I am diabetic — I managed to say quietly, without any sense of bravery: “So be it.”
I stood alone, symbolic of the isolation imposed upon Jewish students and faculty nationwide. Today, I require a security escort simply to reach my classroom safely.
How did it come to this? It began subtly, with silence and hesitation in the face of rising hostility toward Jews. Institutional failure to challenge antisemitic rhetoric disguised as political critique allowed it to flourish unchecked. Academic colleagues, driven by fear, ideology, or convenience, chose complicity over courage. Municipal and national authorities selectively demonized Israel, legitimizing antisemitic discourse. Ultimately, it solidified through media, cultural institutions, and even Holocaust and genocide scholars abdicating moral responsibility, lending legitimacy to distorted accusations against Jews and Israel — with devastating results.
Recently, we once again witnessed the consequences of antisemitic incitement. Two young Israeli embassy employees — a couple soon to be engaged — were brutally murdered outside the Jewish Museum in Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded: “We are witnessing the heavy price we pay for antisemitism and incitement against Israel. Hatred against Israel costs lives, and we will fight it until the bitter end.” Indeed, this toxic incitement thrives not only abroad but also here in the Netherlands, actively fueled by respectable Dutch institutions.
In 1898, Émile Zola published his historic open letter J’accuse!, confronting institutional antisemitism against Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer falsely accused of treason. Today, inspired by Zola’s moral clarity, I explicitly accuse the Netherlands of a similar profound ethical collapse.
I explicitly accuse Dutch universities of fostering hostile environments for Zionist students, professors, and speakers. Jewish students increasingly report isolation, fear, and self-censorship regarding their identity or support for Israel. I moreover accuse these institutions of double standards and cowardice for investigating and cutting ties with Israeli partners.
I explicitly accuse Maastricht University of tolerating antisemitic disruptions. Scholar Rawan Osman’s lecture on March 12, 2025, was disrupted by demonstrators openly chanting antisemitic slogans, yet the university imposed no meaningful consequences. Subsequently, a lecture by Jewish activist Shabbos Kestenbaum was canceled due to alleged security concerns, effectively rewarding intimidation. At the same time, Maastricht maintains active ties with Iranian universities explicitly affiliated with a regime notorious for hostility toward Israel — a profound institutional hypocrisy. I accuse Maastricht University of tolerating explicit calls to “kill all Zionists.”
I explicitly accuse Erasmus University Rotterdam of severe ethical complicity for hosting Francesca Albanese, a controversial UN rapporteur accused by UN Watch of receiving undisclosed funding from pro-Hamas lobbying groups.
I explicitly accuse Dutch municipalities, historically uninvolved in foreign affairs, of unprecedented selective hostility toward Israel, publicly condemning Israeli actions while remaining silent about atrocities committed by oppressive regimes. Municipal authorities nationwide tolerate widespread antisemitic vandalism, implicitly endorsing antisemitism and moral decay.
I explicitly accuse Femke Halsema, mayor of Amsterdam, of profound moral hypocrisy. Mayor Halsema accused Israel of “genocide,” yet deliberately withdrew the term “pogrom” when describing violent antisemitic attacks in Amsterdam. Her administration notably failed to intervene effectively during violent disruptions at the opening of Amsterdam’s Holocaust Museum.
I explicitly accuse Dutch Minister of Education Eppo Bruins of profound moral negligence, consistently evading responsibility by hiding behind university autonomy, even as Jewish students report intimidation and fear. Explicit calls for violence against Zionists remain unanswered, allowing antisemitism to thrive unchecked.
I explicitly accuse Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp of diplomatic hypocrisy, urging EU scrutiny of Israel’s legitimacy while informally hosting Francesca Albanese, despite clear evidence detailing her pro-terrorist affiliations.
I explicitly accuse Dutch Holocaust and genocide scholars and their institutes of ethical abdication. By endorsing unfounded accusations of genocide against Israel, they trivialize genuine historical atrocities and misuse their moral mandates.
Today, we stand at a critical moral crossroads — not just in the Netherlands, but globally — as antisemitism and hostility toward Jewish communities surge alarmingly. To every reader, I urgently appeal: Write your own J’accuse. Speak openly against institutional silence and complicity — even if you must stand alone. Refuse antisemitism masquerading as political critique, academic freedom, or cultural expression. Demand accountability, moral clarity, and historical integrity from all institutions and leaders.
As for those whom I accuse: I await openly and publicly, ready to be held accountable for my words — but also demanding accountability from those whose silence and complicity brought us here.
I await. Alone.
The author is Associate Professor at Maastricht University. You can find more information about the situation on Dutch campuses here.
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Harvard Faculty Oppose Deal With Trump, Distancing From Hamas Apologists: Crimson Poll
Harvard University president Alan Garber attending the 373rd Commencement Exercises at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, May 23, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
A recently published Harvard Crimson poll of over 1,400 Harvard faculty revealed sweeping opposition to interim university President Alan Garber’s efforts to strike a deal with the federal government to restore $3 billion in research grants and contracts it froze during the first 100 days of the second Trump administration.
In the survey, conducted from April 23 to May 12, 71 percent of arts and sciences faculty oppose negotiating a settlement with the administration, which may include concessions conservatives have long sought from elite higher education, such as meritocratic admissions, viewpoint diversity, and severe disciplinary sanctions imposed on students who stage unauthorized protests that disrupt academic life.
Additionally, 64 percent “strongly disagree” with shuttering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, 73 percent oppose rejecting foreign applicants who hold anti-American beliefs which are “hostile to the American values and institutions inscribed in the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence,” and 70 percent strongly disagree with revoking school recognition from pro-Hamas groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC).
“More than 98 percent of faculty who responded to the survey supported the university’s decision to sue the White House,” The Crimson reported. “The same percentage backed Harvard’s public rejection of the sweeping conditions that the administration set for maintaining the funds — terms that included external audits of Harvard’s hiring practices and the disciplining of student protesters.”
Alyza Lewin of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law told The Algemeiner that the poll results indicate that Harvard University will continue to struggle to address campus antisemitism on campus, as there is now data showing that its faculty reject the notion of excising intellectualized antisemitism from the university.
“If you, for example, have faculty teaching courses that are regularly denying that the Jews are a people and erasing the Jewish people’s history in the land of Israel, that’s going to undermine your efforts to address the antisemitism on your campus,” Lewin explained. “When Israel is being treated as the ‘collective Jew,’ when the conversation is not about Israel’s policies, when the criticism is not what the [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism] would call criticism of Israel similar to that against any other country, they have to understand that it is the demonization, delegitimization, and applying a double standard to Jews as individuals or to Israel.”
She added, “Faculty must recognize … the demonization, vilification, the shunning, and the marginalizing of Israelis, Jews, and Zionists, when it happens, as violations of the anti-discrimination policies they are legally and contractually obligated to observe.”
The Crimson survey results were published amid reports that Garber was working to reach a deal with the Trump administration that is palatable to all interested parties, including the university’s left-wing social milieu.
According to a June 26 report published by The Crimson, Garber held a phone call with major donors in which he “confirmed in response to a question from [Harvard Corporation Fellow David M. Rubenstein] that talks had resumed” but “declined to share specifics of how Harvard expected to settle with the White House.”
On June 30, the Trump administration issued Harvard a “notice of violation” of civil rights law following an investigation which examined how it responded to dozens of antisemitic incidents reported by Jewish students since the 2023-2024 academic year.
The correspondence, sent by the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, charged that Harvard willfully exposed Jewish students to a torrent of racist and antisemitic abuse following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, which precipitated a surge in anti-Zionist activity on the campus, both in the classroom and out of it.
“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” wrote the four federal officials comprising the multiagency Task Force. “Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again.”
The Trump administration ratcheted up pressure on Harvard again on Wednesday, reporting the institution to its accreditor for alleged civil rights violations resulting from its weak response to reports of antisemitic bullying, discrimination, and harassment following the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.
Citing Harvard’s failure to treat antisemitism as seriously as it treated other forms of hatred in the past, The US Department of Educationthe called on the New England Commission of Higher Education to review and, potentially, revoke its accreditation — a designation which qualifies Harvard for federal funding and attests to the quality of the educational services its provides.
“Accrediting bodies play a significant role in preserving academic integrity and a campus culture conducive to truth seeking and learning,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Part of that is ensuring students are safe on campus and abiding by federal laws that guarantee educational opportunities to all students. By allowing anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination to persist unchecked on its campus, Harvard University has failed in its obligation to students, educators, and American taxpayers.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Balancing Act: Lebanese President Aoun Affirms Hope for Peace with Israel, Balks At Normalization
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun attends a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday carefully affirmed his country’s desire for peace with Israel while cautioning that Beirut is not ready to normalize relations with its southern neighbor.
Aoun called for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, according to a statement from his office, while reaffirming his government’s efforts to uphold a state monopoly on arms amid mounting international pressure on the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah to disarm.
“The decision to restrict arms is final and there is no turning back on it,” Aoun said.
The Lebanese leader drew a clear distinction between pursuing peace and establishing formal normalization in his country’s relationship with the Jewish state.
“Peace is the lack of a state of war, and this is what matters to us in Lebanon at the moment,” Aoun said in a statement. “As for the issue of normalization, it is not currently part of Lebanese foreign policy.”
Aoun’s latest comments come after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar expressed interest last month in normalizing ties with Lebanon and Syria — an effort Jerusalem says cannot proceed until Hezbollah is fully disarmed.
Earlier this week, Aoun sent his government’s response to a US-backed disarmament proposal as Washington and Jerusalem increased pressure on Lebanon to neutralize the terror group.
While the details remain confidential, US Special Envoy Thomas Barrack said he was “unbelievably satisfied” with their response.
This latest proposal, presented to Lebanese officials during Barrack’s visit on June 19, calls for Hezbollah to be fully disarmed within four months in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from its five occupied posts in southern Lebanon.
However, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem vowed in a televised speech to keep the group’s weapons, rejecting Washington’s disarmament proposal.
“How can you expect us not to stand firm while the Israeli enemy continues its aggression, continues to occupy the five points, and continues to enter our territories and kill?” said Qassem, who succeeded longtime terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah after Israel killed him last year.
“We will not be part of legitimizing the occupation in Lebanon and the region,” the terrorist leader continued. “We will not accept normalization [with Israel].”
Last fall, Israel decimated Hezbollah’s leadership and military capabilities with an air and ground offensive, following the group’s attacks on Jerusalem — which they claimed were a show of solidarity with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas amid the war in Gaza.
In November, Lebanon and Israel reached a US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended a year of fighting between the Jewish state and Hezbollah.
Under the agreement, Israel was given 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon, allowing the Lebanese army and UN forces to take over security as Hezbollah disarms and moves away from Israel’s northern border.
However, Israel maintained troops at several posts in southern Lebanon beyond the ceasefire deadline, as its leaders aimed to reassure northern residents that it was safe to return home.
Jerusalem has continued carrying out strikes targeting remaining Hezbollah activity, with Israeli leaders accusing the group of maintaining combat infrastructure, including rocket launchers — calling this “blatant violations of understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
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Peace Meals: Chef José Andrés Says ‘Good People’ On Both Sides of Gaza Conflict Ill-Served By Leaders, Food Can Bridge Divide
Chef and head of World Central Kitchen Jose Andres attends the Milken Institute Global Conference 2025 in Beverly Hills, California, US, May 5, 2025. Photo: Reuters/Mike Blake.
Renowned Spanish chef and World Central Kitchen (WCK) founder José Andrés called the Oct. 7 attack “horrendous” in an interview Wednesday and shared his hopes for reconciliation between the “vast majority” on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide who are “good people that very often are not served well by their leaders”
WCK is a US-based, nonprofit organization that provides fresh meals to people in conflict zones around the world. The charity has been actively serving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel. Since the Hamas attack, WCK has served more than 133 million meals across Gaza, according to its website.
The restaurateur and humanitarian has been quoted saying in past interviews that “sometimes very big problems have very simple solutions.” On Wednesday’s episode of the Wall Street Journal podcast “Bold Names,” he was asked to elaborate on that thought. He responded by saying he believes good meals and good leaders can help resolve issues between Israelis and Palestinians, who, he believes, genuinely want to live harmoniously with each other.
“I had people in Gaza, mothers, women making bread,” he said. “Moments that you had of closeness they were telling you: ‘What Hamas did was wrong. I wouldn’t [want] anybody to do this to my children.’ And I had Israelis that even lost family members. They say, ‘I would love to go to Gaza to be next to the people to show them that we respect them …’ And this to me is very fascinating because it’s the reality.
“Maybe some people call me naive. [But] the vast majority of the people are good people that very often are not served well by their leaders. And the simple reality of recognizing that many truths can be true at the same time in the same phrase that what happened on October 7th was horrendous and was never supposed to happen. And that’s why World Central Kitchen was there next to the people in Israel feeding in the kibbutz from day one, and at the same time that I defended obviously the right of Israel to defend itself and to try to bring back the hostages. Equally, what is happening in Gaza is not supposed to be happening either.”
Andres noted that he supports Israel’s efforts to target Hamas terrorists but then seemingly accused Israel of “continuously” targeting children and civilians during its military operations against the terror group.
“We need leaders that believe in that, that believe in longer tables,” he concluded. “It’s so simple to invest in peace … It’s so simple to do good. It’s so simple to invest in a better tomorrow. Food is a solution to many of the issues we’re facing. Let’s hope that … one day in the Middle East it’ll be people just celebrating the cultures that sometimes if you look at what they eat, they seem all to eat exactly the same.”
In 2024, WCK fired at least 62 of its staff members in Gaza after Israel said they had ties to terrorist groups. In one case, Israel discovered that a WCK employee named Ahed Azmi Qdeih took part in the deadly Hamas rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Qdeih was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza in November 2024.
In April 2024, the Israel Defense Forces received backlash for carrying out airstrikes on a WCK vehicle convoy which killed seven of the charity’s employees. Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said the airstrikes were “a mistake that followed a misidentification,” and Israel dismissed two senior officers as a result of the mishandled military operation.
The strikes “were not just some unfortunate mistake in the fog of war,” Andrés alleged.
“It was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known by” the Israeli military, he claimed in an op-ed published by Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot. “It was also the direct result of [the Israeli] government’s policy to squeeze humanitarian aid to desperate levels.”
In a statement on X, Andres accused Israel of “indiscriminate killing,” saying the Jewish state “needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.”
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