Supervisory board at KIT resigns after controversy regarding pro-Israel event
The Supervisory Board of KIT announced their unanimous resignation from the organization less than ten days after the Amsterdam building hosted the 50th-anniversary celebration of the Center for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI). The resignation of the board members was initially announced by internal email on Tuesday afternoon, less than a week after the institute’s interim CEO, Geert van Meerveld, resigned from his position.
KIT, formerly known as the Royal Tropical Institute, has been embroiled in controversy since agreeing to host the event while the war in Gaza has been raging for nearly 19 months. The Supervisory Board stated in an email to staff members at KIT that they had planned to resign earlier, but they delayed their decision after they had been requested to do so by the Members Council.
“However, the Supervisory Board has noted for a longer period of time that necessary changes in the organization have failed to materialize despite several attempts to achieve them," the statement noted. It was already known that Van Meerveld was replaced by KIT Members Council member Miltiadis Gkouzouris, the Greek born CEO of HVA International, an agricultural financing and asset management firm.
Even before hosting the controversial event, staffers stressed that allowing CIDI and its staunchly pro-Israel guest speakers to use the location as their stage was in conflict with the Institute's position on global health initiatives, equality, and a workplace commitment to valuing personal differences among staff members. They wrote in a protest letter that the institute is meant to be a place where companies and people are “working towards social justice.”
"There were months of preparation, countless conversations. If this is the way your staff reacts, then I think it would be wise to take another critical look at your HR policy. Besides, we do stand for justice: for Israelis and Palestinians," CIDI Director Naomi Mestrum told Parool this week.
The decision to allow the celebration was also met with anger from pro-Palestine groups. Protesters smeared red paint all over the building ahead of the CIDI event on May 18, with some of those gathered getting into physical altercations with event attendees, security officers, and KIT catering workers. At least two people were arrested.
CIDI has faced increasing criticism recently for blurring the line between combatting anti-Semitism, and pushing policy ideas which are often very similar to the Israeli government's stance. Mestrum told Parool any suggestion her organization is a mouthpiece for Israel is unfounded. "We all want so badly to be inclusive. We are in favor of freedom of speech... except when it is an opinion that you do not like. I think that is the bankruptcy of our society," she said.
"The Supervisory Board, therefore, considers it in the institute’s interest to immediately implement its earlier decision to make its position available,” the statement read.
The Members Council sits above the Supervisory Board on KIT's organization chart, while the Board is above the CEO. The CEO leads six other senior managers, including a chief financial officer, who run the Institute, fundraising team, the KIT as a campus, and human resources.
