Why Israel Will Always Be My Home

My love for Israel is not a passing feeling, it is part of who I am. Growing up in the Netherlands with Jewish roots, Israel became central to my identity long before I fully understood the world around me. My father’s family fled Poland, escaping persecution and finding temporary refuge in the Czech Republic before some settled in the Netherlands around 1900. My mother’s side is a deeper mystery, partly shaped by the heroic resistance work my grandfather undertook during World War II. When my family lived in the Middle East, my parents voluntarily assisted Israeli intelligence, traveling freely with the “white card.” Experiences like these embedded Israel in my heart from childhood, making it my first priority and shaping my life’s purpose.

Israel has often seen the Netherlands as an ally, perhaps naively. But history shows a different reality. During World War II, the majority of Dutch citizens neither actively resisted nor protected Jews, they looked away, stayed silent, or, in many cases, actively collaborated with the Nazis. Let’s examine the numbers:

Even accounting for children, more than half of the population simply did not choose a side. To imagine that the Netherlands would naturally support Israel is, historically speaking, a misconception. The idealized image of Dutch support crumbles when the truth of widespread silence and complicity is recognized.

Unfortunately, this reality continues in subtle forms today, often disguised as anti-Zionism but fueled by classic antisemitism.........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)