Israel's Occupation Worse than Nazis'

Duisenberg: Israeli occupation worse than Nazi
occupation of Netherlands

By Reuters

AMSTERDAM - A Dutch Jewish group on Friday called on European Central
Bank chief Wim Duisenberg to distance himself from "disturbing and highly
controversial" statements by his pro-Palestinian wife during a visit to
the Middle East.

Europe's top central banker waded into an escalating row over his
activist wife Gretta Duisenberg earlier this week after she met
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and urged Israel to stop
occupying the West Bank and Gaza strip.

Gretta Duisenberg, head of Dutch group "Stop the Occupation," has been
attacked by the Israeli and Dutch governments as biased. Her mission has
reportedly split over concerns its message was being obscured by the
Duisenberg commotion.

The Duisenberg controversy deepened on Friday when she was quoted by a
Dutch newspaper comparing Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza
with Nazi Germany's occupation of the Netherlands during World War Two.

"With the exception of the Holocaust, the Israeli occupation of the
Palestinian areas is worse than the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands,"
she was quoted as saying in an interview with the Algemeen Dagblad daily
newspaper.

"The cruelty of the Israelis has no limits. That they are blowing up
houses of Palestinians is not rare. The Nazis never went that far during
the occupation of the Netherlands," she reportedly told the Algemeen Dagblad.

Gretta Duisenberg, who last year created a storm of controversy and
received a death threat after she flew a Palestinian flag from her
Amsterdam family home, could not be reached for comment.


Wim Duisenberg earlier this week lent support to his wife in a letter to
Dutch foreign minister who had criticized her use of a diplomatic
passport for her trip, saying that he was 100 percent behind her.

The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI), one of the
most prominent Jewish organisations in the Netherlands, called on Wim
Duisenberg in an open letter to clarify whether he supported his wife's
controversial remarks.

"These statements by your wife are disturbing and highly controversial,"
CIDI said.

"The ECB derives its strength from operating independently from any
political debate. But if we take your remark in your letter that you are
100 percent behind your wife at face value, we must conclude you
approve," the group said.

The United States, Israel's guardian ally, this month joined a chorus of
international criticism at Israel's policy of demolishing Palestinian
homes which have been denounced as "collective" punishment by
Palestinians and human rights groups.

The Organisation of Jewish Communities in the Netherlands said Gretta
Duisenberg's comments had not served the peace process in the Middle East
but had polarised opinions. It roundly condemned comments in the
newspaper interview.

"It's a disgrace. It's really an insult to those Jews and non-Jews who
perished...," a spokesman said.