Pro-Palestine activists have staged a huge demonstration outside the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam in protest of Israeli President Isaac Herzog attending the opening of the exhibit today.
President Herzog and Dutch King Willem-Alexander officially opened the country’s first Holocaust Museum, but the day was marred by protesters throwing firecrackers and climbing police vans as they called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
‘This museum shows us what devastating consequences anti-Semitism can have,’ said the king at a solemn gathering at a nearby synagogue, attended also by Dutch Holocaust survivors.
President Herzog said the museum sent ‘a clear and powerful statement: remember, remember the horrors born of hatred, anti-Semitism and racism and never again allow them to flourish.’
‘Unfortunately never again is now, right now. Because right now, hatred and anti-Semitism are flourishing worldwide and we must fight it together,’ added the president.
It comes as tens of thousands of protesters marched in central London yesterday – the 10th demonstration in central London since Israel started its military campaign in Gaza following the October 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists.
Pro-Palestine activists have staged a huge demonstration outside the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam
Police officers intervene after a demonstrator climbed onto a van of the mobile unit during a demonstration
Protesters took to the streets on the same day that a National Holocaust Museum opened
Israeli President Isaac Herzog leaves after visiting the National Holocaust Museum on the day of its opening
Dutch King Willem-Alexander (R) receives a tour as part of the opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam
The president called for the ‘immediate and safe return’ of hostages taken by Hamas in the October 7 attacks and urged the congregation to ‘pray for peace’.
Less than a mile away were protests against Herzog’s appearance at the ceremonies, organised by, among others, Jewish groups urging an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Hundreds gathered waving Palestinian flags and banners, and shouting ‘Never Again Is Now,’ a reference to their belief Israel is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory.
They booed and shouted slogans as the dignitaries arrived at the museum.
‘There’s only one place for him here and that’s the ICC,’ said Estelle Jilissen, a 25-year-old consultant, referring to the International Criminal Court that tries suspected war criminals.
Protesters had hung signs on lampposts reading: ‘Detour to International Criminal Court’ along the route.
‘A lot of Jewish people are against his arrival here as well because the pain of their ancestors, the suffering of their ancestors, is being smeared by this president’s arrival,’ said Jilissen.
Health officials in Gaza say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive there in response to an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas fighters on southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Dutch King Willem Alexander walks out of the National Holocaust Museum on the day of its opening
Demonstrators protest against Israel’s President Isaac Herzog attending the opening of the new National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam
Demonstrators wave Palestine flags and lead chants outside the holocaust museum
Groups of Israelis and Palestinians were in the same area as police tried to keep peace
Demonstrators set off some firecrackers as Dutch riot police forms a line during a protest against Israel’s President Isaac Herzog attending
Protesters said it could not stand by while the war in Gaza continued
Dutch Jewish anti-zionist organisation Erev Rave, which organised the protest with the Dutch Palestinian Community and Socialists International, said that while it honours the memory of Holocaust victims, it could not stand by while the war in Gaza continued.
Faced with international criticism of its campaign, Israel has been stressing that it did not start the war and was making all efforts to minimize civilian casualties, blaming Hamas for fighting in densely populated areas.
Some of Herzog’s remarks have been cited by South Africa in its International Court of Justice lawsuit against Israel. He has said that not only militants but ‘an entire nation’ was responsible for the Oct. 7 attack and that Israel will fight ‘until we break their backbone’.
Herzog has said his comments were misrepresented, and only part of what he said was cited in order to build a case against Israel in the ICJ, which after discussing told Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip but stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Herzog, before becoming president, which is a largely ceremonial role, used to head Israel’s Labor party, which historically has been a advocate for making peace with Palestinians.
Dutch King Willem Alexander gets a tour at the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam
Protesters were seen walking around with placards reading: ‘Detour to International Criminal Court’ along the route.
Protesters carry signs calling Israel’s military campaign in Gaza ‘genocide’ during a demonstration
People attend the opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam
The museum told media that it had invited Herzog before the Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza.
It said in a statement it recognised that Herzog’s attendance raised questions but added that he represented the homeland of Dutch Holocaust survivors who emigrated to Israel.
Nazi Germany killed six million Jews during World War Two. Three-quarters of the Dutch Jewish population, 102,000 people were killed by the Nazis, whichis the highest proportion in western Europe.
The Netherlands had never had a national museum dedicated to those who lost their lives until now.
