Stephan van Baarle didn’t know what to say for a moment. The Denk faction leader in the House of Representatives had just mentioned the fate of the Palestinians in Gaza, who are being hit by Israeli bombardments after the Hamas attack. He received support – from an unexpected source. “Beautiful story, inspiring story,” said FVD leader Thierry Baudet. “I agree in broad terms.”
In the past, Forum for Democracy was one of the most outspoken pro-Israeli parties in the Chamber, Van Baarle noted. What was this? “There is some progressive insight on our side when it comes to the situation in that part of the world,” said Baudet.
Baudet described the attack by Hamas as “an incredible evil.” But that was countered by an “extreme retaliatory operation” by Israel, he said, and decades of oppression. “The fate of the Palestinians is really very sad.”
Crucial to Baudet’s story were two other ingredients. First of all, he questioned the news provision and the official reading of the past few days. “It could be that other powers are involved,” he said in response to questions from Kati Piri (PvdA). Second, he called for de-escalation. “Maybe it would be better to turn the other cheek,” he suggested.
Change
Baudet’s argument is exemplary of a turnaround among a squadron on the radical right flank. Israel has long been unconditionally supported by politicians, thinkers and media figures from this corner. PVV leader Geert Wilders still does that. His website simply shows a photo of Wilders with an Israeli flag in the background and the text “We stand with Israel.” The battle between Israel and Hamas, Wilders said in Parliament, “is a battle between barbarism and freedom. A battle between hatred and reason.” JA21 also expressed support for Israel at X and elsewhere, “a beacon of civilization in the Middle East.”
In other parts of this political corner, Israel is now viewed extremely critically. The tendency is no longer to support Israel, but to see the country as a plaything of larger forces, bent on death and destruction.
Others have been significantly more explicit in recent days than Baudet. “We are being pitted against each other here,” said host Robert Jensen in his own talk show, which is usually teeming with conspiracies. “We must be blinded with anger and hatred, not to see that we all have the same enemy.”
Eva Vlaardingerbroek, who after a short-lived FVD career is making international waves as a radical right-wing opinion maker, predicted large-scale unrest and violence in Europe by Muslim migrants as a result of the flared conflict. “The destabilization of Europe is desired by our rulers. Divide and conquer at full power.”
IDF T-shirt
Although anti-Semitic expressions regularly appeared in the ranks of the FVD, for example in the app traffic of young FVD members, Baudet has always publicly presented himself as an extremely pro-Israeli politician. He prided himself on exercising in an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) T-shirt, wearing a yarmulke to Parliament and consistently believing that the Netherlands should not interfere with Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank.
Also read: Baudet sees Putin as an ideological relative in the battle for Europe
Last year, FVD supported a motion to move the Dutch embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. That motion, submitted by the PVV, was only supported by ChristenUnie, SGP and BBB. This proposal was also in the election manifesto until 2021. The new program, a few weeks old, no longer mentions it. After the latest violence, Forum also refused to sign a statement of support for Israel, unlike most right-wing parties.
The corona pandemic in particular, Baudet has often said in interviews, has made him look at the world differently. In this new worldview that is gaining popularity, criticism of America and NATO comes together with conspiracies about an evil elite bent on sowing fear and division.
As an anti-Semitic target, Israel almost naturally appears in these types of conspiracies. The fact that Israel was the first country to launch a large-scale vaccination campaign was a source of even more conspiracies. The large Israeli defense industry is also seen as suspect.
This changing thinking was already visible at Baudet in the summer of 2022. In an interview he called Russian President Putin “a hero” after the invasion of Ukraine. “Ukraine, like Israel, is a linchpin in the secret system behind the world’s power structure,” Baudet said at the time.
Baudet’s suggestion that the official version of Hamas’s attack is incorrect also has a history. He previously said that the attacks in the US on September 11, 2001 and the IS terrorist attacks in Europe were staged as part of a “liberal project” to pit the West and the Islamic world against each other.
‘Crossed card’
Monday was broadcasted in a talk show blckbx openly doubted the official account of Hamas’ attack. “That smacks of a crooked card,” said table guest Kees van der Pijl, a former professor who previously unfoundedly attributed the attacks of September 11, 2001 to Israelis.
In fact, Baudet only believes in nihilism and conspiracies
FVD MP Gideon van Meijeren, also a guest, stated that “perverse interests” played a role in this conflict. He therefore “didn’t want to take sides,” he said. On Tuesday, an FVD municipal councilor joined in a talk show broadcast Unheard News behind those words of Van Meijeren. “Amazing,” responded tablemate Yernaz Ramautarsing, himself a former FVD member and currently affiliated with BVNL, next to her at the table.
When asked, Ramautarsing says that Forum’s attitude does not surprise him. “There is a new one vibe on the right, which is very anti-America and very pro-Putin. You already saw that in Ukraine,” said Ramautarsing. He thinks differently about it himself, he adds, but he sees that such ideas are on the rise. “If you criticize America, Israel is quickly next.”