# Jetten criticises Jewish leader's Kristallnacht speech on Rode Lijn protest

> Chanan Hertzberger's attack on the Rode Lijn protest at the Kristallnacht commemoration drew criticism from Prime Minister Rob Jetten, Amnesty International and a Jewish protest group.

Society · published 2026-11-12 13:12 · https://nlnow.nl/a/cjo-chair-defends-genocide-lie-remark-after-kristallnacht-speech/

Chanan Hertzberger, chair of the Centraal Joods Overleg (CJO), used a speech at the Kristallnacht commemoration on Monday to attack the Rode Lijn protest, which had been held the day before. In the speech he used the term "genocide lie" (genocideleugen).

Prime Minister Rob Jetten also spoke at the commemoration. Hertzberger's speech, however, was the part that drew strong criticism.

Hertzberger responded two days later, on Wednesday.

The speech and his answer to the critics have turned the CJO chair into the centre of a row. It concerns both the Rode Lijn protest and the use of the word genocide for Gaza.

The commemoration of Kristallnacht, at which both Hertzberger and the prime minister spoke, took place on Monday, and the reply from the CJO chair followed on Wednesday.

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