Amsterdamned: The shame of Femke Halsema

„In the arsenal of the antisemite, denial is a key weapon. Six million
Jews were exterminated during the Holocaust? Didn’t happen. The Soviet
Union persecuted its Jewish population in the name of anti-Zionism?
Zionist propaganda. Rape and mutilation were rampant during the massacre
in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023? What a smear upon the noble resistance of
Hamas. And so on.
No surprise, then, that the left-wing mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema,
is now publicly regretting her use of the word “pogrom” in her summation
of the shocking antisemitic violence unleashed by Arab and Muslim gangs
in the Dutch city in the wake of the soccer match between local giants
Ajax and visitors Maccabi Tel Aviv two weeks ago.“
„One day after the violence, Halsema noted that “boys on scooters
crisscrossed the city in search of Israeli football fans, it was a hit
and run. I understand very well that this brings back the memory of
pogroms.”“
„A few days later, she rolled back her initial comments. “I must say
that in the following days, I saw how the word ‘pogrom’ became very
political and actually became propaganda,” she stated in an interview
with Dutch media. “The Israeli government, talking about a Palestinian
pogrom in the streets of Amsterdam. In The Hague, the word pogrom is
mainly used to discriminate against Moroccan Amsterdammers, Muslims. I
didn’t mean it that way. And I didn’t want it that way.”“
„Halsema’s discomfort does not, of course, mean that what happened in
Amsterdam was not a pogrom. Nor does she speak for the entirety of the
Dutch political class. Both the center-right VVD Party and the
further-right PVV Party, for example, continue to describe the violence
as a pogrom and have suggested strong measures for countering further
outrages targeting local Jews and visiting Israelis.“
„What you will realize, however, is that Halsema is terrified of being
labeled “Islamophobic.” That explains her pleas for understanding for a
bunch of Moroccan thugs who express contempt not just for Israel but for
the country that has provided them a sanctuary with housing, education
and many other benefits.“
„To her eternal shame, Halsema is now trafficking in this noxious idea
while presiding over a city in which no Jew can now feel safe, less than
a century after their ancestors were rounded up and deported by the
German occupiers. She should resign.“
Ben Cohen
https://www.jns.org/amsterdamned-the-shame-of-femke-halsema/