Tel-Chai Nation

The American Thinker brings news of an online board game developed in the Netherlands by a state TV network with anti-semitic overtones called "Settlers of the West Bank". It's been removed so far, but is still quite disturbing for the following reasons:

Basically, players are required to assume the role of Jewish settlers and the aim of the game is to build as many settlements as possible on Palestinian territory. Some of the game's features include "the overtly politicized idea behind the game, and the numerous, obviously insensitive features, including the 'Jewish stinginess,' 'Wailing Wall,' and 'Anne Frank' cards. Allusion is also made to the 'typical mercantile spirit' of the Jewish nation, and, according to the Jerusalem Post, the 'settler' may also use the 'Mahmoud Ahmadinejad card' to avoid losing resources to a terrorist and simultaneously draw resources from other players." Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the Iranian president who calls for the extermination of all Jews beginning with Israel.

Notwithstanding the removal of the game online, Dutch Minister of Culture, Marja van Bijsterveldt claims that while the VPRO is a public broadcaster, that does not mean the government has anything to do with the content. The website receives state funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science but the minister claims the state has no authority over the content. In fact, The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science provided 89 percent of VPRO's budget of 51,973,000 euros in 2010.

Apparently, this is what the Dutch government considers worthy of state funding, and not online arithmatic. They are absolutely disgusting with this charade, and how much longer are they going to keep at it? They need to be defunded just like PBS ought to be by now.

Labels: anti-semitism, Israel, Netherlands