As one of the winners of the 1969 Eurovision song contest Lenny Kuhr is now a seventy-four year old Dutch icon, but she still performs all over The Netherlands. Like last Sunday in the provincial town of Waalwijk. Lenny has had an interesting life, in 1973 she was randomly attacked and her face needed some serious surgery. Her doctor was an Israeli, they fell in love, she converted to Judaism, they got married, had children, eventually divorced and the kids are now adults living in Israel. Some of her grandchildren serve in the IDF. Well, I guess you know where this is going.
Last Sunday her afternoon performance of wholesome Dutch sing-alongs was loudly and brutally disrupted by pro-Palestine protestors and with the help of theatre staff and her (second) husband the disruptors were removed. A shocking incident, in Kuhr’s own words ‘terror’. What was worse was how Kuhr’s husband described the aftermath when he tried to engage the protestors in a conversation. That was, he said, impossible. It was endless screaming, a total unwillingness to connect and debate. Lenny herself pointed out that after the October 7th ‘the bear has been freed’ which is the Dutch way of saying that the genie is out of the bottle. The affair ended up in a parliamentary debate yesterday and the outrage spread across the country but not internationally, which is why you are reading it here.
Of course these are no longer ‘incidents’, the number of cases where Jews are harassed and attacked are ever multiplying, globally. Matisyahu concerts have been cancelled, film festivals targeted, schools pressured, university ceremonies disrupted, not to mention all the random attacks: the list is endless and getting longer all the time. On the one hand a long dormant but very potent anti-Semitism has been roused from its eighty-year long slumber, on the other hand the global political theatre that is isolating Israel and Jews is in full swing.
It will not have gone unnoticed that Joe Biden is exerting ever more pressure on Benjamin Nethanyahu to move Israel to a ceasefire and ensure he does not follow through with the plans for a final assault on Hamas’s last stronghold. As discussed, the electoral cycles are influencing the narrative and Biden is now starting to ensure he will not lose his left flank who are increasingly anti-Israel. Same in the UK, Canada and Europe. Multinational organizations like the UN, Amnesty and Oxfam can also be counted on to weigh in on these matters in a certain way. And what follows is the international commentariat with The Economist last week publishing an almost aspirational editorial where Israel was singled out as an increasingly lonely entity, awaiting the world’s justified verdict. And if you were looking for arguments to support the isolation, the magazine would be happy to provide them.
If Hamas had developed a media and international support strategy prior to October 7th then it is not a stretch to think that its results so far have exceeded the original plan by a wide margin. The world is steadily being tilted towards a defined anti-Israel position and if you are in doubt about the country’s culpability, go ahead and feast on the endless and unverified stories of starvation and murder in Gaza, and yes, genocide. The world’s so-called reputable organizations will treat you to a one-sided version of events, and it ain’t pro-Israel. And that is exactly what further emboldens the crowds on the streets of New York, Toronto, London all the way to the stage in the small town of Waalwijk in The Netherlands. There are no longer any moral arguments to even begin to consider Israel’s side of the story, there is only legitimate hate for the country and anything Jewish you can find in your way. If there’s a debate, just scream and shout and that will end it.
To Joe Biden and Bibi Nethanyahu it may be a political game that is served up to domestic audiences, but it is increasingly a dangerous one as few will note the nuances or understand what is really going on behind the scenes. But all of this theatre has far-reaching consequences: it strengthens Hamas who yesterday rejected the latest ceasefire and hostage deal feeling no urgency given the way things are going for it right now. And if you need any reminder of who we are dealing with, yesterday the NYT published a long interview with released hostage Amit Soussana in which she details the horrific torture and sexual abuse she endured as a Hamas captive.
So? Are Jews back into the 1930s and is Israel really standing alone? On the one hand we are seeing things we thought we would never see again when it comes to anti-Semitism and Israel is indeed in a precarious spot. On the other hand we are also witnessing, although not very open, support for Jews and see an Israeli nation that remains unified, well-armed and ready to fight anything that comes its way. So it is a balance, albeit a dangerous one.
The steady unwinding of our global order with a retreating and doubtful America and Europe, an ever more brazen Iran, supported by Russia and China, as well as poorly functioning and biased institutions like the UN, create an environment where some will see an opportunity to do real damage to the Jewish nation. The opportunity they have been waiting for is here. These are the people that have the winds in their sails right now and they will create ever more instability and violence in the year ahead. For all of us, I might add.
Photo and video: Lenny Kuhr (above) in her post-incident interview with Dutch TV. Below one of Matisyahu’s signature performances at Stubb’s in Austin Texas. It is from 2005 and an absolute classic, it belongs in any music collection.
Pieter it won’t get better. We are not organised enough and in Holland the only person who could have helped and won the election was not ‘allowed’ to form a government. We are all talking and restating the horrors, injustices we are witnessing and experiencing, but at the same time, are paralysed, and cannot fight back effectively. Pro Islamic fascists don’t care for words, they believe in the power of the sword and are naturally anti-democratic. The uk government is made up of spineless individuals who have already given up it seems.
Where I live (very near London -will not mention actual name of area), in the last week, a Jewish deli had ‘a visit’ from pro Islamic fascists and the shop assistants were quizzed about their feelings for IDF. They said they just sell bagels . Poor souls!! Brown shirts welcome to 2024! And the uk police is totally disinterested in assisting the locals against such threatening behaviour.
My only release is reading views of people like you and writing about such events say on a platform like this . But for how long more are we going to be able to do so I wonder! The clouds are gathering and getting darker.
Just in Canada there is a lot to be concerned about and the intolerance and refusal to dialogue that I thought was quite limited and mostly young and inexperienced people is actually quite widespread. I think I have shared the story of a medical professional I know who works on the DTES who is now afraid for their physical safety and to some extent hides that they are Jewish. This is Canada in 2024. This level on intolerance needs to be addressed directly.