Antisemitic Rallies After Pro-Israel Party Wins Dutch Elections
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News, reporting from Amsterdam, Netherlands
AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – Antisemitic rallies and other protests have broken out across the Netherlands after the party of anti-Islam and pro-Israel politician Geert Wilders won the Dutch parliamentary elections.
Left-wing sympathizers gathered in Amsterdam where they chanted: “Palestine must be free, from the river to the sea” during a “sit-in” protest at the Dutch capital’s Central Station.
The battle cry reverberating throughout the complex has been banned in several other countries, where it is seen as effectively calling for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people.
Zihni Özdil, a former legislator of the GroenLinks (GreenLeft) party, condemned the rally. “Wilders won in democratic elections; accept that and try to convince your electorate with your arguments. This kind of activism with chanting antisemitic slogans has just made Wilders great in recent weeks.”
The protesters marched to Dam Square, where they drew parallels between the slaves-carrying Dutch ‘United East India Company’ (VOC) of the colonial era, the Nazi-supporting National Socialist Movement (NSB) in the Netherlands and Wilders’ PVV: “First VOC, then NSB, now PVV,” read a banner held high between Palestinian flags.
Similar protests were also held in other cities while leftist public broadcaster BNNVARA even organized a “cry out” drink at its bar to “comfort and encourage each other” after what happened.
It was a “dark morning,” a BNNVARA email said, adding that “many positions” of the PVV go against “everything” the network stands for. The email sender said that Wilder’s ideas “pose a direct threat to our rule of law and society. I didn’t sleep well because of that, and I can imagine I’m not the only one.”
CRYING ON RADIO
Indeed, “It touches me very much that this is the Netherlands we now live in,” sobbed Kimberley Snijders on Dutch radio. The chairman of the National Youth Council burst into tears after an excerpt from a speech by Geert Wilders.
He was referring to Wilders’ statements about the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims. The PVV leader once compared the Koran to the cartoon character Donald Duck and wanted to ban its distribution.
However, Wilders already said he would respect the Dutch constitution and the rule of law. He added that his past proposals, such as banning the Koran and headscarves in government buildings or closing mosques, were not among his priorities.
Yet rights group Amnesty International wasn’t convinced, saying: “The PVV is a party that targets specific population groups by labeling them as inferior. It is a party that, as every election manifesto shows, is prepared to undermine the rule of law and the Constitution.”
However, Dutch historian and publicist Kaan Ozgök, of Turkish descent, says those “cries of despair express so much distrust in the Dutch constitutional state and our democratic traditions.” The expert adds that Wilders must be part of a workable governing coalition. “It is completely impossible in the Netherlands to deport people because they adhere to a certain religion. It’s pure scare-mongering.”
But environmental group Greenpeace also expressed concerns with activists walking through the Hofvijver (Court Pond), the lake in the heart of The Hague near the prime minister’s offices known as ‘Het Torentje’ (The Little Tower).
They unfolded a banner “No climate denier in The Little Tower,” referring to Wilders’ skepticism about human-caused climate change.
EXPENSIVE TEMPERATURES
His PVV party famously questioned spending 28 billion euros ($30.5 billion) on a climate package after the environmental minister admitted it would reduce global warming by “0,00036 degrees.”
Psychiatrist Esther van Fenema warns against overly impulsive reactions. “We’ll just have to wait and see,” she said.
“What exactly was Wilders’ opposition rhetoric, and what will really come of it – if he possibly governs?” Van Fenema told the Dutch daily De Telegraaf (The Telegraph).
“Be restrained,” Van Fenema urged leaders such as Frans Timmermans, the former European Union climate commissioner who now heads an alliance of the Dutch Greens and Social Democrats: “If you meet people in the coming days who think: ‘Do I still belong here?’, you say very clearly ‘yes,’” Timmermans told his supporters.
“These are not very wise remarks,” argued Van Fenema, suggesting that Timmermans sought a scapegoat to explain the leftists’ electoral losses. “He contributes to polarization. Don’t forget that one in four voters voted for Wilders, including many Muslims.”
She advised: “Geert [Wilders] is certainly not a dictator who sends Muslims out of the country. Don’t make each other crazy.”
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