World Zionist Organization Slams Dutch Airport Searches of Jewish Travelers

A senior official from the World Zionist Organization (WZO) has sharply criticized Dutch authorities following reports of Israeli and Jewish travelers being subjected to personal luggage searches at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. Yifat Ovadia-Luski, head of the WZO's Department for Combating Antisemitism, sent a strong letter to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Foreign Minister Tom Benschop, decrying the intensified customs checks.

The searches are reportedly linked to a new Dutch law, effective September 22, that prohibits the import of goods originating from the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and Jerusalem. The WZO claims that enforcement at Schiphol has expanded to include personal belongings, with customs officials examining souvenirs, gifts, and consumer products brought by passengers.

Ovadia-Luski stated that this goes beyond legitimate political disputes or international trade issues, calling it "personal harassment and persecution of innocent citizens." She argued that treating Jewish or Israeli travelers as suspects and searching their luggage solely based on their flight's origin or family mementos constitutes "unacceptable institutional discrimination that crosses a moral red line." She urged the Dutch government to examine its own actions and laws, especially in light of rising global antisemitism, and ensure the safety of Jews within its borders.

Drawing a parallel to a difficult period in Amsterdam's Jewish history, Ovadia-Luski reminded the Prime Minister of Holocaust survivors who returned to the city after the war and faced bureaucratic demands and retroactive payments from the Amsterdam municipality for the period they were persecuted and absent from their homes. This historical episode, documented by the NIOD Institute, led to a formal apology from the city. "That history should echo loudly in the corridors of government in The Hague," she wrote, warning that "cold bureaucracy and dry legislation can quickly become a mechanism for institutional discrimination and humiliation against Jews."

The WZO is demanding that the Dutch government immediately suspend and re-evaluate its enforcement procedures at Schiphol Airport. They also call for assurances that customs policies will not become a tool for national or ethnic profiling of passengers. Furthermore, the organization urges the Dutch government to redirect enforcement resources towards combating antisemitism, incitement, and violence against the local Jewish community, rather than conducting searches that they claim infringe upon the rights of travelers from Israel.