Thousands of Christians rally for Israel in Amsterdam as anti-Zionist protesters clash with police

AMSTERDAM - In the Dutch capital, the contrast between pro- and anti-Israel protesters couldn’t be more striking. As soon as the organizers of the ‘Into the breach for Israel’ rally announced that they would gather on Amsterdam’s monumental Dam Square, far-Left pro-Palestinian groups called for a disruption under the slogan "No Israel Celebration in Amsterdam."

However, authorities in the Dutch capital, who are familiar with the propensity for violence of these groups, banned their presence near the mostly evangelical pro-Israel rally. The Amsterdam Palestina Coalition subsequently lost a court case in which they demanded access to Dam Square. The court decided they would only be allowed to stage their counter-protest at the Oude Turfmarkt, about 500 meters away.

Around a hundred left-wing and Muslim protesters showed up on Thursday, many wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags. Some were masked, and at least one carried a flag of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), officially deemed a terrorist group by the European Union. Their slogans called for violence: "From the river to the sea" and "Yallah, yallah intifada" among others. Despite the court ruling and a large police presence, some of the anti-Israel protesters managed to reach Dam Square.

Pro-Israel protesters heavily outnumbered anti-Zionists

There they were hopelessly outnumbered by some 2,000 mostly evangelical protesters who, despite heavy rain, had come to the Dutch capital to show their support for Israel and their solidarity with the Jewish people. Hundreds of blue and white flags were waved, Hebrew songs were chanted, and speakers vehemently condemned a new law that makes the nominally centrist Dutch government one of the frontrunners in Europe when it comes to anti-Israeli policy.

The government in The Hague has decided to outlaw the import of all Israeli products that are manufactured in the West Bank, but more surprisingly also from east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. This means a Dutch tourist who brings back a souvenir from Jerusalem’s Old City could, in theory, get a six-year prison sentence.

Speakers at the rally yesterday alluded to the fact that in The Netherlands only the most violent criminals, like bank robbers, rapists and even murderers, receive such sentences.

Despite the growing anger about this new law, which is widely regarded as antisemitic, the rally on Dam Square felt more like a celebration than a protest.

There were no calls to violence, nor was there any racial animosity towards Palestinians. Unlike the counter-protest at the Turfmarkt, where chants explicitly called for the removal of "zios," a term popularized by white supremacist David Duke, the pro-Israel rally seemed more inclusive, as demonstrated by the presence of Iranian anti-regime protesters.

'Here to show solidarity with Jews,' Iranian protester says at Amsterdam rally

"We are here to show our solidarity with the Jews, since they have given us their support time and again," says Iranian Jazmine, while wearing a two-sided flag: one side showing the Israeli blue and white, the other the lion and sun flag favored by the Iranian opposition. "Of course we stand with Israel; we have shared a common history for thousands of years. Jews and Iranians stand strong together."

Yet the rally seemed to have attracted very few Dutch Jews. Baruch, a 41-year-old from the town of Apeldoorn, is one of a handful of protesters wearing a kippah.

He recently returned from a month of volunteer work in the Negev and is considering migrating to Israel. "I don’t understand why so few of us (Jews) are here today. I think they’re afraid after all that has happened in the Netherlands since October 7. But if you don’t show yourself today, when will you ever?" he said.

A near-total absence of fear shows how highly motivated the evangelical protesters are, as does the fact that none leave when the downpour intensifies. Thirty-six buses brought hundreds of them from towns and villages like Nijkerk, Urk and Katwijk, in what is known as the Dutch "Bible belt."

Chrissie is a 36-year-old from Wilnis, a village halfway between Amsterdam and the city of Utrecht. She waves a large Israeli flag and wears Star of David earrings. "It’s all about solidarity," she says.

"We know how hard it is to be Jewish in Holland right now, and we wanted to show the Dutch Jews they don’t stand alone," she added.

"Into the breach" is the brainchild of Jacques Brunt, a 46-year-old evangelist from the town of Alblasserdam.

"On October 7, 2023, I felt compelled to do something. I just started handing out a flyer saying, ‘I stand with Israel, where do you stand?’" he said.

Brunt's initiative went from local to regional to national. This was the third year his grassroots organization held its rally in Amsterdam.

"It’s amazing to see that we grow every year, thanks to a handful of very passionate people," says Brunt.

Given the prevalent anti-Israel mood in Dutch politics, this may be surprising, but Brunt says that "As a Christian, I am attached to the hip with Israel. The country has given us so much; our support is unconditional."

On Dam Square, both the Jewish state and the Jewish people enjoy that support. "You can make a distinction between Israel and the Jews, but you can never separate them," says Brunt.

Rabbi Yanki Jacobs, whose father, Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, is one of the speakers on the podium, expressed his gratitude.

"It’s fantastic to see so many non-Jewish people here showing their support for our community and for Israel’s right to exist. All I can do is be here to show my appreciation for their support," he said.

Some counter-protesters try to provoke the crowd. From the third-floor balcony of a nearby H&M clothing store, a huge Palestinian flag is unfolded. It’s so large the bottom reaches the street level, so several pro-Israel protesters rush in and tear it down.

A young Muslim immigrant screams abuse at the crowd before being hurled away by police. A clearly inebriated man with a beer bottle in his hand screams ‘Fascists!’ at the crowd and yells that people in Gaza are starving. A minor scuffle breaks out, and the police quickly break it up.

Growing group of counter-protesters clad in keffiyehs and hijabs causes concern

More menacing is the growing group of counter-protesters, clad in keffiyehs and hijab headscarves, who have gathered in front of the Dutch national war monument on Dam Square.

Apparently, they have found a way to break through the police lines at the Oude Turfmarkt and now hurl abuse at the much larger pro-Israel crowd.

Despite their illegal presence, the police wait about an hour before surrounding the group and arresting some fifty of them.

Not even their presence seems to influence the fair-like atmosphere on the Dam. After a video message by Israeli Ambassador Zvi Aviner Vapni, a gigantic Israeli flag is unfolded over the heads of the protesters, dwarfing even the Palestinian flag at the H&M store. Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, is sung in unison.

Nonetheless, the organizers are keenly aware of the ever-present danger of violence to their people. This is why Jacques Brunt asks the protesters to hide their Israeli flags when they leave, or to immediately board the buses that will bring them back to the towns and villages of Holland’s heartland. ‘Don’t let yourself be provoked’, Brunt says, ‘Go home.’ But when the buses leave Dam Square, fearless Iranians are still dancing to Jewish folk music from a lone speaker.