(foto Shane Rounce, Flickr)
Erev Rav and Platform Stop Racisme & Fascisme decided to cancel the annual Kristallnachtcommemoration in Amsterdam this year. In the week before the municipality of Amsterdam let Israeli hooligans run rampage through the city. There was no indication the municipality would protect us against their violence.
I would like to start with the bigger picture if you will. At the moment and since October 2023, Israel is committing genocide. Even those who disagree with us on this definition, agree that the ICJ, the highest court of the world had ruled that the state of Israel should stand trial for genocide as it is a plausible accusation to make. At this moment any state and state organ is obligated by international humanitarian law to actively act against the genocide in Palestaine.
The Dutch government however had decided time and time again to support the genocide of Palestinians. It sends weapons and also gives political and diplomatic support to the affords of the Israeli government to murder all of the Palestinians living in Gaza and many others. The city administration of Amsterdam is no exception. The mayor of Amsterdam and her administration is obligated by international law to do what it can to stop the genocide and yet Instead she chooses time and time again to assists it. Zionist organizations are allowed to spread illegal genocidal propaganda in Amsterdam, while police and law enforcement tools are being used to control and prevent solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Israeli companies like EBS are allowed to operate in the city. In this context it was decided the game between Macabi and Ajax would go ahead. The mayor and law enforcement should have known that many Maccabi fans are also IDF soldiers, who have been committing war crimes in Palestine for over a year, and now in Lebanon with impunity. Not only are they allowed to travel freely to Europe while Gazans are being murdered they bring their genocidal propaganda here, stoking tensions between communities that have lived together peacefully in unbearable conditions.
They climbed houses in Amsterdam to tear down Palestine flags and chanted death to Arabs in public, and the Amsterdam police ignored. Many were involved in serious political violence in Tel Aviv and abroad.
the mayor and law enforcement should have known that genocidal chants are a constant feature in and around stadiums when Macabi plays. Once Macabi fans were here it was clear local police was not going to protect local Amsterdam residents from this their violence and in one of the videos published on the fans social media , one of the Israeli rioters can be heard saying “police, they are not doing anything” while his friends climb a building wall and take a flag off a window.
The day before yesterday we have been talking to local police and city authorities about our memorial service and the fact that we were afraid of the visiting fans and other Zionist groups who might attack us. When the police officers expressed their own concerns for the event it was clear that for them WE were the problem. Time and time again both the police and the city administration had expressed their concern that WE aJEWISH organization would be responsible for vandalism against the monument here. Time and time Again I had explained accusations like that against Jewish people are incredibly offensive. Time and time again my explanation was ignored. When we discussed the videos showing police officers allowing property destruction by the Macabi fans, the police officers were unable to explain the behavior of their colleagues and had only asked us to believe “this time would be different”. They have also expressed their fears of anti פאשיסט demonstrators attending our event. Of course anti פאשיסט protesters were going to attend our event! The memorial service is intended to honor אנטי פאשיסט resistance and the victims of פאשיזם. To be absolutely clear we expect Dutch police to also be אנטי פאשיסט.
86 years ago in the streets of Germany, the Nazi monster had shown its intentions to kill all of the Jews, and with us many others who had been declared “unwanted” and “inhuman” , right up until the death camps were opened by the allies, many refused to believe the Nazis were murdering and burning millions of people including children in a well oiled machine designed to do just that. Also here in Amsterdam some had chosen resistance while others choose to ignore or even work together with the Nazi occupation. Today we observe the same dynamic playing out. While some resist the genocide, take to the streets and speak up, many other ignore events. We expect dutch police to do what ever it can to bring Israeli soldiers and officers to justice and we expect the city administration to stop immediately any cooperation with Israeli companies and institutions and to check if no organization subsidized by the city is spreading genocidal propaganda or trying to convince Dutch teens to join the Israeli army. By failing to bring Israeli soldiers, officers and visiting leaders to justice- Dutch police is breaking international law. By failing to boycott, divest and sanction Israeli companies the mayor is neglecting her moral duties.
Now is the time to stand up against genocide! The people of Palestine can not wait any longer! Those who remain complicit will be judged by history! Never again is now!