Naftaniel resigns from the PvdA over Piri's statement on Holocaust museum

Ronny Naftaniel, the former director of the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI), has canceled his membership of the PvdA. This was prompted by a GroenLinks-PvdA statement on the presence of Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam. In the statement, MP Kati Piri described Herzog's presence as undesirable on behalf of GroenLinks-PvdA.

In the statement, Piri said it was "extremely painful" that the arrival of the Israeli head of state now overshadowed the opening of this important museum. "While it was logical to invite a representative of Israel to the opening of the Holocaust Museum before the Gaza war began, the government should have realized that President Herzog's presence is undesirable under the current circumstances," she said in a statement on X.

Piri also demanded in her statement that outgoing Prime Minister Rutte must "remind Herzog of the obligation to adhere to the provisional measures that the International Court of Justice has imposed on Israel. Give him the clear message that a ceasefire must be in place now and Israel can no longer continue with the collective punishment of Palestinians.”

Naftaniel, who was also chairman of the Central Jewish Consultative Committee (CJO), wrote on X that he was a member of the PvdA for over 45 years. He called it "indigestible" that the party believes that the presence of the president of the Jewish state "overshadows" the opening of the Holocaust Museum.

According to the prominent Jewish activist, the GroenLinks-PvdA should instead have used Herzog's arrival to establish a dialog, he wrote. "I share the concern for the civilian victims in Gaza, but the Labor Party/Green Left has forgotten who started this war on October 7 with a cruel massacre. If Hamas would release the Israeli hostages and lay down their weapons, the war would be over."

Naftaniel went on to argue that the Green Left-PvdA statement supports international efforts to turn victims into perpetrators. "In doing so, the party is denying its values. I cannot participate in that."

Other PvdA members also expressed their doubts after Kati Piri's controversial statement. Former PvdA spin doctor Simon den Haak who is married to former PvdA MP Henk Nijboer, described Piri's comments as "completely crazy", De Telegraaf reported. Former PvdA politician Robbert Baruch also expressed harsh criticism. "Bart Tromp taught me that there is always a better reason to resign from the PvdA. But after Kati Piri's scandalous statement today, the party must do its very best," he posted on X.