On January 24, 2022, a Dutch NGO, The Rights Forum, which is anti-Israel in its nature, sent a public records request to all 14 Dutch universities requesting information pertaining to any and all ties, the university may have with Israel, Israeli universities, companies, or any institutions that support Israel.
The Dutch-based Nieuw Israelietische Weekblad, a Jewish outlet, has posted the request. It is rather long and not yet translated, but the reader can plainly see the names of numerous Israeli/Jewish institutions listed here.
The request, referred to in Dutch as Wob, for Wet Openbaarheid Bestuur, (translated loosely as Administration Public Disclosure Law or Act) is somewhat similar to our federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The revelation of the request and the initial response to the request by the university(ies) has caused a commotion among Jewish students and the Jewish community in general in the Netherlands. It brings back memories of how the Nazis took steps to remove Jewish students and professors from the universities when they took power in Germany, a practice they exported to the Netherlands during the occupation in World War 2.
The New York-based, Jewish outlet, Algemeiner, has posted an article on the controversy, which can be read here.
The Algemeiner article also has a link to two notices academic authorities released under the letterhead "Universities of the Netherlands", on February 11 and then on February 15. Those notices are contained here (in Dutch).
Below are translations of the academic responses dated February 11 and 15. Translation by Fousesquawk.
Response of Dutch universities to Wob request, The Rights Forum
February 11, 2022
All 14 universities that are affiliated with Universities in the Netherlands have received a Wob request from The Rights Forum regarding, "institutional connections of the universities to Israeli universities, institutes, and companies as well as organizations that propagate their support for Israel." Questions and unrest have arisen because of this Wob request. In order to handle this request, all universities that fall under the Wob (should) request a delay from the submitter in the handling of this request.
In the Wob request, questions were asked about institutional cooperation between the universities and the organizations named in the request. It does not explicitly concern cooperation with individual academics. Almost all universities are required to cooperate with the disclosure of requested information. Universities are not allowed to make considerations as to which Wob request they find morally or otherwise undesirable or inappropriate. That is not to say that all requested information must actually be made public in its entirety. The Wob provides grounds for exceptions, for example, for personal data such as religion or belief. Interested parties, such as specified in the Common Administrative Law Axt, who have reservations over the disclosure of the information should be asked to share their views, or objections against disclosure with their university. These views will be taken into account in the final decision on disclosure.
Additional statement regarding Wob request, The Rights Forum
Tuesday, 15 February 2022
A number of weeks ago, all Dutch universities received a Wob request from The Rights Forum in which information was requested regarding "institutional connections between the university with Israeli universities, institutions, and companies, along with organizations that propagate support for the state of Israel". Also requested was information regarding connections with a number of specific Jewish organizations.
The handling and dissemination of the Wob request have led to feelings of unrest and insecurity within the universities. We regret this. We stand for a safe educational, research, and work climate for all of our employees and students. We are getting signals that this has come into question due to our approach to the Wob request, and we confirm that a careful assessment of the request is necessary.
Last Friday, we stated that all the universities would request a delay from the Wob submitter. More on this is below.
All universities covered under the Wob will ask for delay (or have already done so) from the submitter of the Wob request, The Rights Forum. This means that no further steps will be taken as to requesting, gathering, and/or sending of information requested in the Wob request.
The universities want to make a careful consideration of whether, and if so, in which manner the request must be handled. This requires considering the (Wob) Public Administration Law, but also the broader legal framework and university principles, such as safety of our employees and students, academic freedom, equal treatment, and countering discrimination. It will be examined whether cooperating with (parts) the request would disproportionately disadvantage the concerned persons (Article 10g, sub. 2 of the Wob).
This consideration must take place in a careful manner, and thus, will take some time. As soon as more is known, we will communicate it via a report.
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