Halsema would not use the word 'pogrom' again

 

Yesterday, 10:20 PM

https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2544887-halsema-zou-woord-pogrom-niet-opnieuw-gebruiken

 

Halsema would not use the word 'pogrom' again

 

If Femke Halsema were to repeat the press conference the day after Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv, she wouldn't use the word 'pogrom' again. The mayor of Amsterdam believes that this term has been used as "propaganda" by, among others, the Israeli government and politicians in The Hague. "That's not how I meant and wanted it," she says to Nieuwsuur.

 

In the press conference on Friday, November 8, Halsema said: "Boys on scooters crisscrossed the city looking for Israeli football supporters. It was a hit and run. I understand very well that this brings back the memory of pogroms."

 

The mayor now emphasizes that she did not want to make a direct comparison with pogroms, but that she wanted to express the sadness and fear of Jewish Amsterdammers. "But if I had known that it would be used politically in this way, also as propaganda, I don't want to have anything to do with that."

 

What is a pogrom?

A pogrom is an organized violent attack on a particular ethnic or religious group. The term has its origins in Russia, where Jews were regularly victims in the 19th and 20th centuries.

 

In the Netherlands, the term is mainly used to refer to the raids against Jews during the Second World War. A well-known historical example of a pogrom is Kristallnacht (1938). In this attack organized by the Nazis, countless synagogues, shops, and belongings of Jewish people throughout Germany were set on fire or destroyed. Jews were murdered or mistreated in the streets and locked up en masse in concentration camps.

 

Halsema is not happy with the reactions of politicians in The Hague to the violence in her city. They "hijack" the word pogrom to discriminate against Moroccan Amsterdammers and Muslims, she says. She is also disappointed that several cabinet members speak of an "integration problem". "What is that needed for and what is it based on? People feel like they're right after 9/11 again, that they have to justify themselves. But these are individuals who have badly misbehaved."

 

The Hague qualifications are causing more division in her city, Halsema says. "I want to appeal to The Hague: go to work and don't argue. Whatever your political background is."

 

During an emergency debate in the Amsterdam city council last Tuesday, Halsema said that she stands by the word 'pogrom':

 

The mayor has been talking a lot with various communities in her city in recent days. She hopes to allay the fears of her residents and combat polarization. "People should be able to live together. The word connection has become dirty."

 

Furthermore, she acknowledges that the triangle - municipality, police and Public Prosecution Service - has not fully succeeded in keeping the city safe. "Painful," says Halsema.

 

Independent research

She emphasizes that they acted "to the best of their ability" and that the security services were "very prepared". To find out how things could go so wrong, she wants to commission independent research.

 

"I can't deny that we were surprised by what happened that night." Halsema says he did not receive any indications from security services beforehand that things would get out of hand.

 

The police now have 45 suspects in the picture for committing criminal offences around the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv match, including some Israelis. Nine of the suspects, all of them Dutch nationals, are in pre-trial detention. Based on, among other things, the analysis of a large amount of footage, the police expect the number of suspects to increase.