Israel’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Zvi Aviner Vapni, publicly distanced himself from two senior ministers in the Israeli government, telling a Dutch newspaper that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have made statements he finds appalling and that he has no intention of standing up for them.
The remarks came in a lengthy interview with the Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad, in which Vapni fielded 17 pointed questions about Israel and the conflict with the Palestinians. When the interviewer charged that Ben Gvir had justified starving Gaza and that Smotrich had called for killing 30 to 40 Gazans every night, the ambassador made clear he would not represent their positions. “They said things that I find shocking and unacceptable. I have no desire to defend them,” he said.
Vapni was also pressed about violence by extremists in Yehuda and Shomron. He said that out of roughly 700,000 residents of the communities there, several thousand are extremists, and he did not mince words about them, calling them thugs and “Jewish terrorists” who all belong behind bars.
The ambassador said he believes the overwhelming majority of Israelis share his view, estimating that some 80 percent of the public would agree with him. He said the violence must stop and that the attacks deserve every condemnation. Speaking more broadly, he said there are people among Israelis that the country would prefer not to have with it.
At the same time, Vapni used the interview to push back hard against the Dutch government and media. He said the Netherlands, once a moderate voice on Israel, has now placed itself alongside Spain and Ireland, countries he described as the extremes of anti-Israel sentiment in Europe and completely irrelevant to what happens in the Middle East. He dismissed accusations of genocide leveled by D66, the leading party in the Dutch government, as nonsense, and said that ending the conflict requires pushing out extremists on all sides, including Hamas terrorists, Hezbollah terrorists and the Iranian regime.
Vapni’s comments come amid a deep freeze between Jerusalem and The Hague. The Netherlands declared Ben Gvir and Smotrich persona non grata and barred them from entering the country, banned imports of goods from Yehuda and Shomron and the Golan Heights, and has summoned Vapni twice this year. Last month, the Netherlands formally announced it will boycott Eurovision 2027 in protest of Israel’s participation.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
