Pro-Palestine protesters turn backs on Dutch rabbi’s Christchurch eulogy
Incident on Sunday happened as Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs was discussing the meaning of a minute of silence at the gathering at the Dam Square
Demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags turned their backs on a Dutch chief rabbi during his eulogy at a vigil for Muslims killed in New Zealand.
The incident Sunday happened as Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs was discussing the meaning of a minute of silence at the gathering at the Dam Square World War II memorial monument. Thousands of people, many of them Muslims, gathered at the square to commemorate the 49 people slain Friday by a far-right killer at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Some protesters had posters calling for a boycott of Israel.
When Jacobs, the chief rabbi of the Inter-Provincial Chief Rabbinate of the Netherlands, got up to speak, several participants carrying Palestinian flags demonstratively turned their backs on the rabbi in what many Dutch Jews on Twitter called a display of antisemitism.
antisemitic behaviour is commonplace occurrences during anti-Israel protests on the Dam by activists promoting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. They routinely wave Palestinian flags during these bi-weekly gatherings.
Mayor Femke Halsema and several other municipal officials responded to the actions of the protesters who turned their backs on Jacobs on Sunday by standing shoulder to shoulder with the rabbi during his address.
Jacobs urged his listeners to think of “the countless people killed in terrorist attacks one houses of worship and beyond around the world, of which we hear nothing: Not on television, not in the papers and even not on Facebook, but where countless people are being killed.”
Hidde J. van Koningsveld, who heads the CiJo pro-Israel group, called the action “disgusting.”
Bij de herdenking van de aanslag in Nieuw Zeeland op de Damwaar gesproken werd over verbinding, ook door de Iman, vonden deze Pro Palestina demonstranten het gepast tijdens de toespraak van Opperrabbijn Jacobs met hun rug naar het podium te gaan staan. Wat een Gotspe! pic.twitter.com/L6gZq5Pkms
— Diamant (@DianaMeijer1) March 17, 2019
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
