Dutch Lawmaker Resigns Over Ritual Slaughter
A Dutch lawmaker resigned from his party in protest of its support for banning ritual slaughter, among other issues.
Wim Kortenoeven announced his resignation from the Party for Freedom at a news conference last week in The Hague. Founded in 2005 by Geert Wilders, the party follows an anti-Muslim, pro-Israel policy.
“Regarding ritual slaughter, I came under intense pressure from Wilders to vote against my conscious,” Kortenoeven said.
In 2011, the Party of Freedom voted in favor of a bill to ban ritual slaughter in The Netherlands. Kortenoeven voted against the bill. He was the only party member who defied party discipline. Though passed into law, the Dutch Senate scrapped the ban last month.
Referring to the Party for Freedom’s stated support of individual liberties, Kortenoeven said the party’s stance on ritual slaughter was “inconsistent.” Citing the party’s support for cutbacks in defense, Kortenoeven said the party was not prepared to back up its statements in favor of Israel.
Geert Wilders’ anti-Muslim rhetoric has become the focus of international attention over the past five years. He regularly visits Israel, which he regards as the West’s “first line of defense” against Islam.
Another lawmaker from the party, Marcial Hernandez, announced his resignation along with Kortenoeven. Complaining about strong party discipline, he said North Korea’s Kim Jong-un “could learn something from Wilders.”
The latest polls predict that in elections in September, the Party for Freedom will remain the third largest party with 20 seats in parliament.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
