Gidi Markuszower

Gideon "Gidi" Markuszower (born 27 October 1977) is an Israeli–Dutch politician of the Party for Freedom (PVV). He became a member of the Netherlands Senate on 9 June 2015. In the 2017 Dutch general election he was elected to the House of Representatives, and gave up his Senate seat. He was fourth on the Party for Freedom list in the 2023 Dutch general election, and therefore continued his term as a member of the House of Representatives.

Political career
He was a spokesperson for Likud Netherlands between 1999 and 2005 and board member between 1999 and 2015, when he resigned from the party to become a member of the Senate. He also served as political advisor to Member of Parliament Anton van Schijndel (VVD) until 1 December 2006. Markuszower was arrested in 2008 for illegally carrying a firearm while performing security work at a celebration of Israel's 60–year existence. He stated that he had violated transportation restrictions of his firearms license, but charges were later dropped by the prosecution.

Markuszower was placed on the Party for Freedom list for the 2010 general election. However, he withdrew himself as a candidate after party leader Geert Wilders had been informed of findings by the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD). It had concluded that Markuszower was involved in an organization that had shared information with "a foreign power" and that he had been in contact with a foreign intelligence agency, suspected to be the Israeli Mossad.

In the 2015 Dutch Senate election Markuszower, who was in fifth place on the Party for Freedom's candidate list, was elected to the Senate. He took his seat on 9 June 2015. He become the chairman for committee for Immigration and Asylum, and for Justice and Home Affairs.

In 2017, Markuszower was elected to the House of Representative, after being placed fourth on the Party for Freedom's candidate list. As a consequence he stepped down from the Senate. In November 2017, Markuszower called for the general public to be able to appoint judges, a task for House of Representatives and council members. In 2018, Markuszower took over the co-defense of a private member's bill from Geert Wilders concerning the detention of suspects in the interest of national security. He was supported by Machiel de Graaf and Sietse Fritsma.

In 2021, Markuszower referred to the Dutch immigration policy as a "major crime against the Dutch people," for which those politicians responsible should be tried by a tribunal. When Ukrainian refugees entered the Netherlands following Russia's invasion of the country, he complained that the Netherlands was paying their rent and utilities. Markuszower has voiced his support of a proposed Israeli annexation of the West Bank, and he has met with Yossi Dagan, chair of the Shomron Regional Council. He has advocated ending money transfers of the European Union to Palestinian organizations in the West Bank.

Markuszower received a third House term in the 2023 general election, and he has since served as the PVV's spokesperson for migration, asylum and terrorism. He was selected to serve as Minister of Asylum and Migration and as First Deputy Prime Minister in June 2024 as part of the Schoof cabinet, but Geert Wilders withdrew his nomination shortly after as a result of his background check by the AIVD. Markuszower called his situation Kafkaesque.

Personal life
Markuszower is a descendant of a prominent Jewish family that held many administrative positions within the Jewish community in the Netherlands. For example, his father was chairman of Jewish Special Education for many years, and his brother was chairman of the Nieuw Israëlitisch Weekblad. Markuszower has family in Israel and visits the country often. He speaks fluent Hebrew.

Markuszower has also devoted many years to serving the Jewish community in the Netherlands. For example, he has been administratively involved in The Jewish Community of Amsterdam (NIHS) and Bij Leven en Welzijn. Additionally, he has been a member of the Centraal Joods Overleg, a spokesperson for Likud Netherlands, director of Jewish youth organizations such as Bnei Akiva and various student associations, and treasurer of the Dutch Israelite Denomination.

In the period 2014-2018, there was a fierce direction battle within that Denomination, which Markuszower had to deal with as a director. In 2024, the Denomination apologized for the allegations made against him at the time and praised him for his efforts and merits for the Denomination.