Speech by minister of Justice and Security Foort van Oosten - International prosecutors’ summit on Antisemitism, 18th november 2025
Ladies and gentlemen,
It’s a pleasure to welcome you today to The Hague, which we are proud to call the city of peace and justice.
Great legal minds have worked here for centuries, shaping and modernising the law. They include probably the greatest Dutch jurist and champion of freedom and justice, Hugo Grotius.
One of his maxims was ‘Where justice falls short, violence begins’, which the Supreme Court adopted as its motto. It’s highly relevant to the theme we’ve come together to discuss.
The International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and the Peace Palace are modern institutions that embody The Hague’s long association with the law.
This is a special location, for a special conference.
I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the jurists and prosecutors here today, from over thirty different countries.
And I’d like to thank the organiser of today’s event, our National Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism Eddo Verdoner.
People sometimes ask me why we have a National Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism. After all, don’t we have anti-discrimination legislation?
Here’s the answer: in the first place, because antisemitism gave rise to the biggest mass murder in history.
But also because antisemitism is a very specific form of discrimination. Or rather, many specific forms. Britain’s former Chief Rabbi, the late Jonathan Sacks, described it as a ‘virus’. A virus that continually mutates in order to survive.
He was right. Antisemitism is not about a specific characteristic, but about attributing to someone the most negative qualities one can imagine.
In the past, antisemites would loath Jews for supposedly being weak and submissive, while now they are hated for being arrogant and strong.
Jewish people were denigrated because they were seen as not belonging anywhere. Now they are vilified because they have their own state.
If you add centuries-old conspiracy theories and insinuations, and their rapid spread today via social media, you get an explosive mix. A mix that was ignited by the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Each country represented here today has seen a rise in the number of antisemitic incidents in the past two years. In many cases, incidents were reported but did not lead to convictions.
Because getting a conviction is a challenge when it comes to antisemitism. There is a tendency to adapt in order to slip through the legislative net.
This is precisely what we’ll be talking about today. We’re not here to solve the problem of antisemitism. Or to emphasise its gravity. We all agree on that.
Nor is it my job, as Minister of Justice and Security, to determine when a prosecution should or should not proceed. That’s up to the Public Prosecution Service.
No, we’re here today to define boundaries, provide clarity and learn from each other. Antisemitism is not a typically European problem, but our history imposes a duty on us to tackle it together.
How does antisemitism relate to discrimination, group insult and incitement to hatred?
What is the relationship between the terms Jew, Zionist and Israeli? How does this tie in with Holocaust denial, or the right of the state of Israel to exist?
Each of our countries is wrestling with rising antisemitism and how to tackle it. So it’s good that you are meeting today to explore the scope for action. The room for an open debate, for justice, but also the room for Jewish life and criticism of the state of Israel.
While this may sound abstract, today you’ll be discussing a number of concrete cases. The people involved will talk about the choices they made, as well as the opportunities and obstacles they encountered along the way.
Although each case is unique, the starting point has to be that antisemitism will be punished. Impunity is a serious risk. If prosecutors don’t bring cases to court because they are too complex, we’re heading for trouble.
And if we fail to curb antisemitism, how will we stop other forms of hate and discrimination?
Antisemitism is a virus, and the task before us is to keep searching for the right vaccine to eradicate it.
I wish you every success as you strive to accomplish this task today.