A Muslim city councilman in The Hague recently called Israeli high school students visiting the Netherlands “future Zionist terrorists” and “murders of children,” the Center for Information and Documentation of Israel (CIDI) reported late last week.
Abdoe Khoulani, a member of the Islamist Party of Unity, made his comments on Facebook about a 30-member delegation of 16-year-olds from the Hen School for Young Ambassadors, who had come to the country on an Israeli Center for Young Leaders (ICYL)-organized mission to build ties with their Dutch peers.
According to Ynet News, one of the students on the trip said, “It is disappointing to discover that when we, Israel’s youth, come as a delegation without political interests to promote friendly relations with Dutch youth, we encounter a sad barrier of antisemitism and hatred of Israel.”
In response to Khoulani’s comments, Israel’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Aviv Shir-On has reportedly sent a letter to the mayor of The Hague, Pauline Krikke, in which he called the incident “not just a scandal” but “absolutely unacceptable.”
“These words [Khoulani’s] are nothing but anti-Israel incitement that can lead to violence that we have unfortunately seen in Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Manchester and London,” Shir-On wrote.
Though a number of Dutch lawmakers have criticized Khoulani for his comments, Krikke has reportedly yet to respond.
On Thursday, the youth arm of CIDI organized a demonstration, attended by the Israeli student delegation, in front of The Hague City Hall. The students held an Israeli flag, and ICYL representatives later wrote on Facebook that the students’ message was “hate will not prevail, love will lead the way.”
CIDI has expressed hope that an investigation would be launched into Khoulani, who has a history of making incendiary comments, including a 2014 statement in support of ISIS and misogynistic threats earlier this month against a woman who criticized his anti-Israel rhetoric.