Concerns have been raised over the Netherlands’ police force after reports emerged that some Dutch police officers are refusing to guard Jewish buildings and protect Jewish community events for ideological reasons.
Dutch police refuse to guard Jewish sites over 'moral dilemmas,' officers say: Marcel de Weerd and Michel Theeboom, from the Jewish Police Network, claimed "“There are colleagues who no longer want to protect Jewish targets or events." https://t.co/ypDEfTR1Rw JPost pic.twitter.com/FOzoTmEgWA
— Jewish Community (@JComm_NewsFeeds) October 4, 2024
Dutch police chiefs admitted they changed duty rotas to accommodate police officers who have “moral objections” to guarding Jewish interests and places, including the Netherlands’ Dutch National Holocaust Museum in the Jewish Cultural Quarter of Amsterdam, the country’s capital.
“There is no hard and fast policy,” Mireille Beentjies, a spokeswoman for the leadership of the Dutch national police force, said. “The line is that police staff are allowed to have moral objections.”
“We take moral objections into account when we make the rotas. But if there is an urgent job to do, they go on duty whether they want to or not,” she added. “You are expected to behave professionally. Others shouldn’t notice anything.”
I'm all in favor of everyone having the right to moral objections.
Then, once you're a pblic servant, and you want to morally object, I'm all in favor of you having your ass kicked out the door. Go do some private work, since you're not fit to serve the public.— A. Sherman Barros (@AShermanBarros) October 6, 2024
Beentjies argued that Dutch police officers were made to guard institutes and events they found morally objectionable in other circumstances.
“It pains them when the Quran is burned, but at the same time, they still have to protect the people who do it,” she stressed.
Marcel de Weerd and Michel Theeboom, two officers representing the Netherlands’ Jewish Police Network, expressed their concerns that police officers were allowed to opt out of duties that clashed with or contradicted their personal views.
Deport them.
— Ben Rogoff (@BenRogoff) October 4, 2024
“There are colleagues who no longer want to protect Jewish targets or events. They talk about ‘moral dilemmas,’ and I see a tendency emerging to give in to that. That would truly mark the beginning of the end. I’m concerned about that,” Theebom said.
“During the preparations for security at the Holocaust Museum, there were colleagues who didn’t want to be rostered in,” Theebom added. “You’re allowed to get food and drink in the building while on duty, for example, but they didn’t want to.”
De Weerd supported Theebom’s claims, adding, “We see that leadership is struggling with this. Especially now, with the conflict in the Middle East, we risk drifting away from what we should stand for as a collective. We need to keep discussing this with each other.”
Nobody wants to put their time to protect any of Genocidal state's thing.
— Anas (@Anas_shal_) October 3, 2024
De Weerd also claimed that many younger Dutch police officers were ignorant of the country’s history, particularly the mass collaboration of Dutch police with the Nazis during the Second World War and the Holocaust, where over 75% of Dutch Jews were murdered.
In response to these concerns, Janny Knol, the Commissioner of the Dutch National Police, seeks to hold “an internal conversation on how to deal with such dilemmas.”
“Police officers are human beings and have the right to their own opinions and emotions,” Knol said. However, she stressed that “when it comes to people’s safety, that is our top priority. We are here for everyone. That is the foundation of our work as police officers.”
do these officers names start with “Mu”?
— Based Ken (@justbasedken) October 4, 2024
While Knol said that “there can be no discussion” in the conversation she vowed to initiate, she did not mention any intention to discipline officers who opt out or are seeking to opt out of protecting Jewish buildings, events, and citizens.
Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch Parliament and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), condemned Dutch police officers who refused to guard Jewish buildings and events.
“Unacceptable. If an officer does not want to guard Jewish objects, that is grounds for dismissal,” Wilders wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
