Thierry Baudet, formerly even demonstrating in a kippah, now states that Jews „cannot claim” World War II and the Holocaust.
Dutch Jews have vociferously condemned a speech by a far-right member of the Netherlands parliament in which he stated that Jews „cannot claim” World War II – reports the Algemeiner. In a speech, Thierry Baudet, leader of the right-wing populist Eurosceptic Forum for Democracy (FvD), stated that „World War II is not owned by a specific group.”
Earlier in the week, the Dutch Jewish community called upon the members of the parliament to condemn the use of Holocaust images by anti-vaccine protesters. As a response, Baudet put the word ‘Holocaust’ in quotation marks, adding, „the war is not yours; it belongs to all of us”.
The eccentric politician doubled down on this statement in his speech to parliament. He said that the topic of World War II „is a very interesting, very complex question in history, but it is not owned by a certain group or ethnicity.” He refused to apologise for putting the word ‘Holocaust’ in quotation marks, stating he was merely quoting someone.
Ronny Naftaniel, the representative of the Dutch Jewish umbrella organisation, the Centraal Joods Overleg, condemned the statements of Baudet as „disgusting.” „It is extremely inappropriate,” he said to the paper. „Of course, we are not talking about claiming World War II. We are talking about the suffering inflicted on the Jewish people. I can tell you that in my community, people feel sick.”
Aron Vrieler, the spokesman of the pro-Israel Dutch organisation CIDI noted that the quotation marks while mentioning the Holocaust and his talk about Jews claiming World War II amounts to „exactly the same antisemitic dog whistles as the extreme left, extreme right and radical Islam have been pushing since World War II.”
It turned out earlier this year that Baudet makes racist statements in WhatsApp groups, and last year he turned down the party’s leading position after it was discovered that the members of the FVD youth organisation shared Nazi songs in their WhatsApp group. He then justified his decision by stating that if those party members committed antisemitic acts, they have to leave the party, and his resignation is a sign of him taking ownership for what happened.”
Thierry Baudet, a follower of the famous conservative philosopher, Roger Scruton, gave an interview to the Hungarian conservative magazine Mandiner last year, in which he labelled the far-right FVD a „classical conservative party.” His current antisemitic action is strange because up until now, he was constantly voting pro-Israel in the parliament, and he even protested in kippah against the German government’s statement: „Jews shouldn’t wear kippah in Germany.”
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