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News > World

Dutch Mainstream Left Party Endorses BDS, Boycotts Israel

  • Dutch Green Left Party endorses BDS despite being called racist.

    Dutch Green Left Party endorses BDS despite being called racist. | Photo: Reuters

Published 26 February 2019
Opinion

Netherland's Green Left Party passed a motion in favor of boycotting Israel and support of BDS. 

Netherland’s political movement Green Left Party became the first mainstream movement to endorse the boycott of Israel. The Green Left Party has 14 seats out of 150 seats in the lower house of the Dutch Parliament.

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During the General Congress of the party, the motion to boycott Israel through the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, was passed.

“BDS is a legitimate means to help Palestinians in their fight for justice,” the passed motion said stating that Green Left “will be alert and resist forcefully attempts in any country to criminalize BDS.”

Likening anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, the Dutch Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI), a Jewish group committed to fighting anti-Semitism, wrote, “Green Left conveniently ignored how, in practice, BDS goes hand in hand with expressions of anti-Semitism and is linked to terrorist groups.”

The Liked Nederland pro-Israel group also came out with a statement saying that the Green Left party “has declared itself a racist movement,” as they have not passed motions boycotting Morocco, China, Turkey or Russia, who according to them are occupying powers.

The practice of boycott of Israeli goods is legal in Europe and other countries but promoting boycott is a violation of anti-discrimination laws in many countries like France and Spain.

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