BDS is free speech, says Dutch government

You can criticize Israel all you like, as long as you don't criticize Islam -- as Geert Wilders has found out.  He is on trial for hate speech again at the moment

The Netherlands has affirmed that activism calling for boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel is a form of free speech.

In response to parliamentary questions from Green Left MP Rik Grashoff, Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders said that “statements or meetings concerning BDS are protected by freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, as enshrined in the Dutch constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.”

Koenders also said that the Dutch government regularly discusses BDS with Israel and makes clear to Israel that it “opposes a boycott of Israel, but that endorsing BDS falls under freedom of expression.”

The Dutch government’s statement also comes as lawmakers in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, last week rejected a law that would have punished BDS activism.

Civil liberties groups and legislators had warned that the law would have violated fundamental free speech rights.

SOURCE