Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof at his residence, as he concluded his visit to the Netherlands undertaken following the violent attacks on Israeli soccer fans on Thursday.
In their meeting, Prime Minister Schoof described the recent attacks on Israelis in Amsterdam as a "turning point,” and expressed his commitment to bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The two agreed on the importance and urgency of combatting rising antisemitism, and spoke about ways to advance cooperation on the issue.
Prime Minister Schoof noted that he had cancelled his participation in the COP Climate Summit in Baku, in order to remain in the Netherlands due to the serious incidents in Amsterdam. He presented in the meeting the discussions scheduled to take place in the coming week on this matter in the Dutch parliament and in other forums.
During the meeting, Minister Sa’ar stated that the brutal attacks on Jews and Israelis and the demand by their attackers that they present passports to prove their identity, were reminiscent of dark periods in history. He stressed that Israel could not accept the persecution of Jews and Israelis on European soil.
Minister Sa’ar emphasized that this new antisemitism focused on the denial of the Jewish state's right to exist and on denying its right to self-defense.
“This antisemitism is manifested in the political assault on Israel in the institutions of the UN and international legal forums. The goals are identical – the delegitimization of Israel and undermining its right to self-defense. This is not done against any other democracy,” Sa’ar said.
He also thanked the Dutch Prime Minister for his friendship and support for Israel and invited him to conduct an official visit to Israel.