Leader of Dutch right-wing party ordered by judge to delete social media posts comparing COVID-19 restrictions to the Holocaust
Thierry Baudet, leader of the ring-wing party Forum for Democracy (FvD), posted content to Twitter in which he compared the Dutch Government’s policy on combating COVID-19 to the Holocaust. However, Mr Baudet was ordered by a judge to delete the four tweets or face a fine of €25,000 a day until they have been deleted.
Mr Baudet was also forbidden from making such references in future speeches.
In one tweet dated from 14th November, Mr Baudet wrote: “The current situation can be compared to the 1930s and 1940s. The unvaccinated are the new Jews, the ignorant who exclude them are the new Nazis and NSB [wartime Dutch Nazi organization] members.”
“There, I said it,” he added.
In another tweet, accompanied by images of unvaccinated children paired with one of a Jewish boy wearing a yellow star in Nazi Germany, Mr Baudet wrote: “Ask yourself: is this really the country you want to live in? In which children who are ‘unvaccinated’ are not allowed to go and see Santa Claus? And need to be dried off outside after swimming lessons?”
“If not: THEN RESIST! Do not participate in this apartheid, this exclusion!”
The case was brought against the right-wing party leader by two Dutch Jewish organizations, the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) and the umbrella Central Jewish Consultation (CJO), and was backed by four Jewish Holocaust survivors. The plaintiffs asserted that the tweets were “seriously insulting and unnecessarily hurtful to the murdered victims of the Holocaust, survivors and relatives.”
The judge, upholding the ruling, said that Mr Baudet “spoke in an unnecessarily offensive way to victims of the Holocaust and their relatives,” before adding that “The right to freedom of expression for a representative of the people is not unlimited.”
The FvD have said that it will be appealing with the decision, tweeting that “Freedom of expression is restricted by the judge,” and called the ruling a “totally hallucinatory statement.”
In February, Mr Baudet provoked outrage by stating that the trials against Nazi leaders in Nuremberg after World War II were “illegitimate”.
Mr Baudet resigned as leader last year after several members of his Party were accused of antisemitism, but was reinstated shortly after.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
