ZGram - 11/8/2002 - "Bank Chief's Wife Stirs Controversy"

irimland@zundelsite.org irimland@zundelsite.org
Fri, 8 Nov 2002 17:42:58 -0800


ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny

November 8, 2002

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

It seems that Gretta Duisenberg is picking up some steam.  Remember 
that she is the one who may well have to defend herself on charges 
that she laughed anti-semitically, if I may coin a proverb.

[START]

Bank Chief's Wife Stirs Controversy

By Anthony Deutsch

Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, November 6, 2002; 12:35 PM AMSTERDAM, Netherlands --

When Gretta Duisenberg hung a Palestinian flag from her balcony, her 
neighbor wrote her a polite complaint. When she agreed to head an 
organization called "Stop the Occupation," the criticism grew 
louder.But when she made a remark that some interpreted as a sneer at 
the Holocaust, tempers really flared and she was hit with a lawsuit.

Her opinions might have attracted little attention were she not 
married to Wim Duisenberg, chairman of the European Central Bank and 
one of the most powerful men in world finance.But coming from a 
pillar of the Dutch establishment, 60-year-old Duisenberg's 
pro-Palestinian activism stands out in a country Israelis have always 
considered a friend in a Europe they perceive as increasingly hostile 
and even anti-Semitic.

"In recent months, I grew more saddened and restless watching the 
images and the escalation, ... and how the Israeli army reacted. I 
couldn't just stand by anymore," Duisenberg explained in an 
Associated Press interview."I told my husband, I have to do 
something, if necessary on my own."
Duisenberg has attended one pro-Palestinian rally and spoken at 
another to cheers of "Gretta! Gretta!" She has collected thousands of 
dollars and 16,000 signatures on an anti-occupation petition, and on 
Friday, she leaves on her first trip to the region.She is scheduled 
to meet Yasser Arafat during a five-day tour of the contested 
territories at the heart of the conflict.

Her West Bank and Gaza Strip itinerary is detailed, her schedule of 
meetings with Israelis vague and far from final.Now she faces a 
private lawsuit filed by attorney Abraham Moszkowicz, representing 
unidentified clients, which accuses her of making anti-Semitic 
remarks, amounting to a hate crime. Public prosecutors also are 
considering filing charges.

The lawsuit was provoked by a radio interview in which Duisenberg 
said she had collected 6,000 signatures on a pro-Palestinian 
petition. Asked how many more signatures she hoped to collect, she 
responded "6 million" and laughed. When newspapers linked the remark 
to the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, she understood she 
had blundered."Only then did I realize and thought: 'Uh oh. Oh dear.' 
I honestly never meant to hurt anyone," she says now.

Duisenberg's husband of 16 years headed the Dutch central bank until 
1998, when he took over the European Central Bank, which oversees the 
economies of 12 European Union nations. He has refused to discuss his 
wife's political views or her activism, which emerged only after he 
announced in February he will retire this July.

Rosa van der Wieken, a Jewish physician and Amsterdam city councilor, 
lives a few houses away from the Duisenbergs and says she can see the 
flag from each of her windows. She said she waited more than a month 
before writing to Duisenberg asking her to remove the flag, saying 
she has two children in Israel who could fall victim to Palestinian 
bombers.She said Duisenberg replied that the flag would stay, but 
from then on it was visible only on the first Sunday of every month.
"She's free to do what she wants to do," said van der Wieken. But she 
accuses Duisenberg of taking a one-sided view. "It's like getting on 
the wrong side of an out-of-balance seesaw," she said in an 
interview. "Any solution needs to take both sides into account."

Duisenberg says she has been defending human rights for 15 years, 
demonstrating against apartheid and cruise missiles.Her espousal of 
the Palestinian cause, however, strikes a discordant note in Holland, 
the country that hid Anne Frank from the Nazis, helped tens of 
thousands of Jews leave the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and has 
been a steadfast political supporter of Israel.Israel's ambassador, 
Eitan Margalit, says the Dutch government is still one of Israel's 
best friends, always "more balanced and objective" than other 
European governments.At the same time, Holland's Muslim immigrant 
population has grown to 600,000, vastly outnumbering its 30,000 Jews. 
The Muslims have become increasingly vocal in sympathizing with the 
Palestinians, supported by a strong left-wing movement that accuses 
Israel of human rights abuses.

[END]