Monday, January 12, 2009

Update: Van Bommel Barred From Auschwitz Commemoration

Our Flemish correspondent VH reported last week on Harry van Bommel, the Dutch member of parliament (Socialist, of course) who called for a new intifada to free “Palestine”.

His — ahem — indiscretion has caused him to be disinvited from the Auschwitz commemoration later this month. VH has translated a brief follow-up for us from De Telegraaf:

Van Bommel will not go the Auschwitz commemoration

SP-Parliamentarian Harry van Bommel [who chanted “Intifada, Intifada, Palestine Free”] will not go to the Auschwitz commemoration in Amsterdam on January 25. The Auschwitz Committee reported today that it managed to convince Van Bommel not to show up at the commemoration [in Amsterdam’s Wertheim Park].

[…]

Van Bommel reports that he feels hampered by opinions that connect the present conflict in the Middle East to the commemoration of the persecution of Jewish people during the Second World War.


[Post ends here]

4 comments:

Fellow Peacekeeper said...

"Indiscretion" ... Perhaps the chap is a genuine peacenik plain opposed to violence and murder who genuinely percieves the actions of Israel to be unjust. Hmmm, so, following the logical thought.... does opposing persecution by Jews automatically disqualifies one from rememberences marking the persecution of Jews? Or does that imply that the holocaust was a Jewish tragedy instead of a mere universal human tragedy?

The chap, however obnoxious he may be politically, has a point. Contradictions abound.

Henrik R Clausen said...

Makes sense. No sane, civilized person would stand in a demonstration chanting Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas!.

Some sanity left on the planet. Phew.

babs said...

Well Henrik, you beat me to it. Anyone that would support a demo chanting "Jews, Jews back to the ovens" should take a pass on a Holocaust rememberance...
I mean really, are we that crazy???

Zenster said...

I would think it very instructional to have Harry van Bommel strapped down for several weeks, a la Alex DeLarge, and oblige him to view a continuous loop of Alain Resnais' "Night and Fog".