Activists check for Isreal army symbols at Vierdaagse; Queer Amsterdam exits Pride Walk
Israel’s war on Palestine is again a hot topic of discussion in the Netherlands. A group of activists united in Nijmegen4Palestine will check for symbols of the Israeli army during the Nijmegen Vierdaagse and confront participants wearing them. And Queer Amsterdam has withdrawn as one of the organizers of the Pride Walk during the Pride event in the Dutch capital due to a row over allowing Israeli flags.
Nijmegen4Palestine told NU.nl that it does not want the annual walking event associated with Nijmegen to “be used for Israeli propaganda.” The organization called it frightening “that IDF [Israel Defense Forces] can walk around freely in our city.” Its “nonviolent vigilante group” will look for Vierdaagse participants “connected to the IDF.” A spokesperson said: “As far as we are concerned, not everyone is welcome. IDF terrorists who commit genocide are certainly not welcome.”
A spokesperson for the Vierdaagse told the newspaper that political statements are prohibited during the event, and any participants caught making them would be held accountable. In extreme cases, they can be disqualified. This applies to all political statements, the spokesperson said.
A Vierdaagse spokesperson told ANP that they don’t expect Nijmegen4Palestine to encounter any Israeli soldiers. Members of the IDF have not participated in the event for decades, the spokesperson said.
Israeli flags at Pride Walk in Amsterdam
A row over Israeli flags at the Pride Walk in the Dutch capital has also come to a head, with Queer Amsterdam withdrawing as an organizer. Stichting Homomonument is now the sole organizer of the walk on July 20, Parool reports.
On Friday, Queer Amsterdam posted on Instagram that “no Israeli flags” were allowed at the Walk, prompting immediate criticism from Israeli and Jewish organizations. Mayof Femke Halsema also said she would not allow the ban.
On Saturday, Queer Amsterdam apologized for saying it wouldn’t allow Israeli flags. The organization said it wanted to express its position “against Zionist practices” that have “led to the current oppression of the Palestinian people.”
That resulted in more criticism from Israeli and Jewish organizations. According to Parool, the Centraal Joods Overleg (CJO) sent a letter to Queer Amsterdam saying it was “astonished” by the exclusion of Israeli expressions and accused the organization of denying “the right to exist of the state of Israel as a Jewish state.”
In response, Queer Amsterdam decided to withdraw from the Pride Walk, leaving the Homomonument as the sole organizer. “To be clear: we did not want to ban flags,” Queer Amsterdam said. “But we cannot wholeheartedly welcome or support all flags in this political climate,” referring to the war on Gaza.
On October 7, Hamas committed terrorist attacks on Israel, killing 1,070 people. Israel responded with the incessant bombing of the Gaza Strip, a narrow coastal strip of around 360 square kilometers housing around 2 million Palestinians. That has been ongoing for over nine months.
As of 4:00 p.m. on July 14, local time, Israeli attacks have killed at least 38,458 people in Gaza, including over 15,000 children. Over 88,881 people are injured, and more than 10,000 people are missing, Al Jazeera reported based on figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health
