Geert Wilders' letter to Rabbi Cooper
Geert Wilders' letter to Rabbi Cooper is a letter written by Geert Wilders to Abraham Cooper on 21 August 2012[1]. In this letter Wilders declares that he is a Judeophile and that he would never start an initiative against Jewish ritual slaughter.
The verbatim text of letter
This is a source text. Spelling and smaller errors in the content can be corrected. The source is given in the "Source" part.
Dear Rabbi Cooper,
- Thank you for your email.
- I am a friend of Israel and the Jewish people. So is my party, the Party for Freedom (PVV).
- The bill regarding the prohibition of the slaughtering of unstunned animals was not an initiative of the PVV but of the Animal Party. It was supported in the Tweede Kamer (our House of Representatives) by the overwhelming majority of the parties, including the PVV, although we allowed our members the freedom to vote against the party line. The bill was supported by opposition parties as well as the governing Liberal Party (VVD) of Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
- The bill has subsequently gone to the Senate where it was rejected. The Animal Party is said to be working on a new bill, but, contrary to what you write, Mr Dion Graus has not put forward a bill regarding ritual slaughter.
- I realize that a campaign is being waged against my party, trying to depict us as a party condoning and even tolerating anti-Semitism. I can assure you that Mr Graus is absolutely not an anti-Semite. Anti-Semites will never be tolerated in the PVV.
- With most kind regards,
- Geert Wilders MP
- Geert Wilders
- Voorzitter Tweede Kamerfractie Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV)
- Geert Wilders MP
- Chairman Party for Freedom (PVV)
Source: Wilders' letter to Rabbi Cooper [1]
References
- ↑ Wilders' letter was the reply to a letter sent by Cooper on 19 August 2012. This ridiculous letter, which talks about pre-genocidal rhetoric and which obsessively makes multiple references to "The Holocaust", is given here verbatim (source: http://content1d.omroep.nl/b51c56d97d61555549e1f6ea45334082/5064833d/nos/docs/210812_SWCaanWilders2.pdf): "August 19, 2012 Mr. Geert Wilders Freedom Party Dear Mr. Wilders; I appreciate the quick response to my August 15th email. I am following up to seek clarification of our original communication and to provide you with a global context of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's concerns. It is our understanding that a total ban on ritual slaughter has been included in the new party program of your Freedom Party. The only other party in your country seeking such a ban is the Animal Party. Should such a bill become the law of the land, it would threaten the future viability of the Dutch Jewish Community. Further, it would also encourage others across Europe to adopt the same draconian measure. Such a trend, along with growing moves in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Norway to ban brit milah, the ritual of male circumcision, represent an attack to core Jewish values not seen in Europe since the tyrannical regimes of Stalinist Russia and Hitler's genocidal Third Reich, would threaten the viability of European Jewish communities. As a reflection of our growing concern for our fellow Jews in Europe, I will be traveling to Europe for meetings with cabinet members in France, Germany and Norway in the coming weeks that will focus on the spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes, terrorism and pre-genocidal rhetoric. It is in this context that I turn to you, as a leader who is identified as a friend of the Jewish State of Israel, to reiterate our call to you as the leader of the Freedom Party, to disassociate yourself and your party from this unjust initiative. The Wiesenthal Center urges you to instead work with the other mainstream parties along with the Jewish community to arrive at an understanding that would secure the legality and validity of our ancient rite while instituting measures to address concerns about undo suffering of animals. Finally, when a public personality in any democracy says multiple times that Shechita constitutes "torture", such language is a targeted canard against our ancient faith, denigrates all Jews for whom eating Kosher is a religious obligation, and emboldens anti-Semites everywhere. I hope you will exercise your leadership to permanently remove the anti-Shechita initiative from Freedom Party's agenda and instead work with all parties to find a compromise approach that maintains the religious freedom of and respect for Dutch Jewish citizens. Sincerely, Rabbi Abraham Cooper Associate Dean Simon Wiesenthal Center"
