Citing security issues, Amsterdam’s Mayor Femke Halsema issued a last-minute ban on a planned rally against antisemitism that was set to occur later on Thursday, November 28th, in the city’s central Dam Square, saying she cannot provide appropriate police protection to Jewish participants after the violent pogroms that took place in the city earlier this month.
“This Thursday is one of the busiest shopping evenings of the year. There is a good chance that there will be spontaneous dissenting voices,” a spokesman for the mayor’s office said. “The police do not have sufficient abilities at that location to guarantee the safety of participants in the demonstration and for the shopping public.” Of course, the city officials did not specify what “dissenting voices” would present a danger to Jewish participants.
Facing public backlash, the mayor’s office later said the event could be held, but had to be relocated to Stopera Square. “This is not about a ban but about relocation. This still needs to be formally established,” a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party, responded on X:
What an incredible disgrace: the mayor of Amsterdam, who allowed many demonstrations full of Jew hatred and failed in the shameful recent Jew hunt in her city, is now banning a demonstration against anti-Semitism on Dam Square in Amsterdam.
The organizing Christians for Israel (CFI) and partner institutions such as the Center for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI) were considering challenging the decision in court, arguing that Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are allowed to gather on Dam Square regularly, but decided against the move due to time constraints.
“We believe it is crucial for the rally to proceed, even if at a different location,” said CFI Netherlands director Frank van Oordt. “We considered legal action but determined there wasn’t enough time to pursue it effectively. Because the city council delayed the decision until the last moment, organizing the rally on Dam Square became impossible,” he said, urging locals to attend.
Nonetheless, the organizers remain highly disappointed with the Green-Left mayor’s decision, which they believe to have political dimensions. “Safety was never an issue for the mayor. And now we are being put in a different place. As if it can’t be unsafe there,” CIDI Director Naomi Mestrum commented. “We are just being rejected outright.”
“It is deeply disheartening that in 2024 the safety of peaceful demonstrators cannot be guaranteed on the Dam in Amsterdam. Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian demonstrations continue to be held at the very site where we annually commemorate the horrific murder of Jews during World War II,” van Oordt said. “Moving the rally feels like a slap in the face to the Jewish community.”
The mayor’s office defended the decision by claiming that it had made the same request for pro-Palestinian rallies at the same location. It’s unclear whether that ‘request’ will have any binding effect, as an upcoming pro-Palestinian protest is planned on Dam Square on Saturday and no statements have been made about moving it to another location so far.
The mayor’s decision might also have been motivated by the fact that there have already been attempts of intimidation against the organizers of the rally earlier this week. On Monday morning, November 25th, a group of around 15 pro-Palestinian demonstrators besieged the CFI headquarters for about three hours shortly after staff and volunteers showed up for work, and vandalized the building with spraypainted accusations of “genocide” in Gaza. Police showed up eventually and arrested seven people.
The city has been on edge since the night of November 7th, when dozens of Israeli football fans were violently assaulted, some severely beaten, by pro-Palestinian mobs. Although the police made 57 arrests and political leaders described the event as a “pogrom” and “Jew hunt,” the incident happened once more on November 11th.
At a press conference on November 8th, Mayor Halsema described what happened as “men on scooters crisscrossing the city, looking for Israeli fans. It was a hit-and-run. I can understand very well that this brings back memories of pogroms.”However, she minimized those incidents by blaming them on “a toxic cocktail of antisemitism and football hooliganism,” referring to the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, some of whom reportedly tore down Palestinian flags and chanted anti-Arab slogans. Geert Wilders, however, called the events “a Jew hunt in the streets of Amsterdam.” Wilders criticised the mayor’s response, adding, “I am ashamed that this can happen in the Netherlands. Totally unacceptable.”
