Israeli-born candidate for minister in Netherlands has candidacy withdrawn

Gideon (Gidi) Markuszower, born in Israel, had his candidacy to become the Netherlands' new Migration and Asylum Minister revoked on Thursday, Walla reported.

His candidacy was withdrawn due to his "connections with a foreign intelligence service," the report said.

Markuszower could have had these positions following recent coalition negotiations in the Hague, and possibly the position of Deputy Prime Minister, according to Dutch media.

Markuszower was born in Tel Aviv but grew up in Amsterdam, attending the Rosj Pina and Maimonides schools in Amsterdam, which serve as the Amsterdam Jewish community's main schools.

Following high school, he studied international relations at the Hebrew University and spent two years at a Yeshiva before returning to the Netherlands to study Law at the University of Amsterdam, according to his biography page on the Dutch Parliament's website.

Markuszower is part of the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) led by the controversial but victorious Geert Wilders.

Hardline anti-immigration stance

Markuszowers's hardline against immigration made him a close and important ally of Wilders; during a 2021 debate, he called the current Dutch migration policies "a crime against the Dutch nation."

This stance is speculated to be the reason for his appointment, and Dutch media also believe that he will be appointed as one of four Deputy Prime Ministers for this government.

Wilders recently led the PVV to its best performance since its founding in 2006, breaking the existing cordon sanitaire that the Dutch political establishment placed on Wilders for his radicalism.

The PVV gained 20 seats, giving them 37 and making them the main vector for government formation; Markuszower has been a close ally of Wilders for at least a decade since his entry into the Dutch States-General in 2015.

Markuszower, like his ally Wilders, is considered somewhat controversial in the Netherlands due to multiple incidents.

He was arrested in 2010 during celebrations of Israel's 60th Anniversary for carrying a firearm; Markuszower had a license for the firearm but not a permit to transport it, according to Trouw.

He was forced to withdraw his candidacy for the States-General when the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) announced they believed he had leaked information to a foreign intelligence service while working as a political advisor to a Dutch politician. Dutch media speculated that the foreign intelligence service was Mossad, although the AIVD never confirmed. Markuszower strenuously denies these allegations.

Despite this allegation, Markuszower has not shied away from supporting Israel, in particular in the aftermath of October 7.

The new government is expected to be strongly pro-Israel, not just because of Markuszower, but also due to Wilders and rumored Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans, according to Dutch media.