Prime Minister Schoof, Don’t You Have Any Shame?

Prime Minister Schoof, Don’t You Have Any Shame?

✍️ Author’s Note
This reflection was written out of deep moral indignation. The refusal of the Dutch government to admit seriously ill children from Gaza is not a matter of policy but of humanity. History has shown that the Netherlands could open its doors to the persecuted — Jews, Huguenots, Lutherans, and, more recently, Ukrainians. Yet now, in the face of innocent children in urgent need, our government hides behind excuses. I ask, as every citizen should: where is our humanity?

The Netherlands likes to present itself as a model country: prosperous, orderly, thrifty, and — above all — tolerant. Yet today, that image rings hollow. In one of the richest nations on earth, with hospitals ready and willing to help, the Dutch government refuses to admit seriously ill children from Gaza. Doctors warn that healthcare in Gaza and neighbouring countries has collapsed. Hundreds of children are dying, but the cabinet insists treatment must take place “in the region.”

During today’s General Debate, the opposition will table a motion urging the government to act. That it even requires a motion is disgraceful.

A nation once proud of refuge

The Netherlands has a history of offering shelter. Descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews settled here after the expulsions of 1492. French Huguenots found safety in the seventeenth century. In the 1730s, persecuted Lutherans from Salzburg were invited to Zeeland. Each time, refugees not only survived but enriched Dutch society.

Even in recent years, our compassion was evident: nearly 130,000 Ukrainians are allowed to stay until at least 2027, and Dutch hospitals swiftly treated more than 250 Ukrainian children with cancer after the Russian invasion.

Yet for Palestinian children, this generosity vanishes. Other European countries — the UK, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Greece, and Italy — have already admitted children from Gaza for urgent treatment. The Netherlands refuses. Last week’s vote in parliament confirmed the cruelty: 71 in favour, 72 against.

The shadow of history

Our relationship with Israel is not without its own burden. During the Second World War, of the 107,000 Jews deported from the Netherlands, 102,000 were murdered — the highest percentage in Western Europe. Collaboration outweighed resistance, property was systematically looted, and survivors returned to a society that often met them with indifference rather than welcome.

This shameful record has haunted our governments. Perhaps it explains the unconditional loyalty to Israel, a loyalty so blind that it now makes us complicit in its war crimes.

Even doctors protest

Normally, the Dutch medical community avoids politics. Yet Amsterdam UMC recently declared it was “very concerned” that children with the most urgent medical needs were being turned away. “If even innocent children with serious injuries or chronic illnesses are not allowed to be helped in our country, where is our humanity?”

A haunting question — and one the government has no answer for.

The moral test we fail

This is not a complex policy dilemma. It is a question of humanity. Other nations act while the Netherlands hides behind excuses. Words are plentiful, but action is absent.

The government has once again revealed its inhumanity, its cowardice, and its complicity.

So I ask, Prime Minister Schoof, not as a politician but as a human being: don’t you have any shame?

William J J Houtzager, Aka, WJJH, September 2025

📌 Blog Excerpt
The Netherlands, rich and proud of its tolerant image, refuses to admit dying children from Gaza even though our hospitals are ready. In the past, we welcomed Jews fleeing Spain, Huguenots from France, Lutherans from Salzburg, and Ukrainians escaping war. But Palestinian children are turned away. Parliament voted narrowly against helping them, confirming the cruelty of the present government. This is not a complex policy matter. It is a moral test — one the Netherlands is failing.