Dutch MP Diederik Van Dijk filed the motion because since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, “there has been a chilling increase in antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands. ”The context of the slogan “from the river to the sea” comes directly from the Hamas charter,” according to the SGP member.
The controversial slogan “from the river to the sea”, which is often heard in pro-Palestinian rallies across Europe and elsewhere, must be placed in an antisemitic context at demonstrations, making it possible to take action against it. A motion calling for a ban of the slogan was adopted in the Dutch House of Representatives. The motion was initiated by the Dutch Christian Reformed Political party SGP.
“More tools for police to tackle antisemitic slogans at demonstrations,” rejoiced SGP MP Diederik Van Dijk after his motion was adopted by a parliamentary majority. “No Hamas ranting in our streets or stations.” His motion was supported by several parties.
The slogan calls for expelling the Jews from Israel, the annihilation of the state of Israel and for the extermination of all Jews worldwide.
The SGP MP sees little action being taken against the controversial phrase to date. He asked the outgoing cabinet (there is no government in Netherlands yet) to follow the example of Germany and Austria to place the chanting of the slogan at demonstrations in antisemitic context and to include it in the so-called action perspective, so that police and prosecutors can actually take action.
