After the announcement of the pro-Palestinian demonstration at the main entrance of the Johan Cruijff Arena next Thursday, the question arises how the Amsterdam triangle (mayor, chief public prosecutor and chief of police) can respond to this. The demonstration is aimed against the arrival of the Maccabi Tel Aviv football club from Israel. The hard core of Ajax, the F-side, responded that they will not tolerate such a protest and will ‘intervene’ if necessary. Amsterdam faction leaders hope that the right choice will be made to make this happen safely.
Pro-Palestinian activists announce that they will stand in front of the Johan Cruijff Arena on Thursday to demonstrate against the arrival of Maccabi Tel Aviv. According to them, inviting the football club from Israel would be equivalent to accepting what the state of Israel does. “Sport cannot serve as a poster child for those who violate the most essential rights of a people,” the message reads.
F-side released a statement on Monday stating that ‘politics is not welcome in the stadium’: “We will not tolerate this either inside or outside the stadium and we will intervene where necessary.”
Safety
Due to the message from the F-side, there is a chance of disturbances. Anke Bakker of the Party for the Animals also sees this. She fears it will become a discussion between the demonstrators and the F-side instead of the message that demonstrators want to convey. “It is then up to the mayor to guarantee safety.”
Because, according to the group leaders, the right to demonstrate is very important. Imane Nadif (GroenLinks): “We have an obligation to comply with this.”
It must be possible to maintain peace, says VVD member Daan Wijnants. “I find it tasteless to make a football club that has been drawn to play against Ajax partly responsible for what is or is not done by the state of Israel.” According to him, it doesn’t help that the F-side wants to stand in between.
Safety is also the most important thing for the PvdA and D66. Rob Hofland (D66): “Everyone has the right to demonstrate. This does not include violence, whether you are a demonstrator or someone who is annoyed by it.”
Previous demonstrations
You often see that demonstrators face a group that opposes the protest. The opening of the National Holocaust Museum caused great unrest between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators, and on October 7 this year groups with different opinions gathered near each other. “But that is really different,” Wijnants thinks. “It was really about two camps opposing each other, but that is not the case yet.”
Nadif of GroenLinks says that there are more demonstrations where opposition is announced in advance. “You see that happening a lot through social media. We have already seen so many demonstrations this year. I am confident that this will be handled well and I hope that everyone will adhere to the rules and give each other space.”
Safety above all
Simply banning a demonstration is not possible. There are three grounds on which a demonstration can be banned in a place. This is possible, for example, when road safety is at risk, as you saw during the demonstrations on the A10 by the action group Extinction Rebellion.
Danger to public health or public order may also be a reason. Rogier Havelaar (CDA): “I can well imagine that safety cannot be guaranteed now, but of course I do not have the same information as the triangle has.”
According to Sheher Khan, leader of Denk, it is too early to talk about banning now: “The mayor must simply make it possible. The wrinkles must be ironed out.” By this he refers to the tension that arises, “and this may require a lot of police deployment.” He thinks that a good conversation with F-side about the right to demonstrate could remove the tension.
The organizers of the announced demonstration could not be reached today. Maccabi Tel Aviv is taking, as De Telegraaf previously wrote, a group of agents from the Israeli secret service in addition to its own security. The club tells AT5 that it sees this as a decision of local politics: “I don’t think it is up to us to comment on that.” A spokesperson does not want to say more than that.
The triangle did not want to respond to questions about the safety surrounding the demonstration today. Since the match is on Thursday, there will probably be more clarity about possible measures tomorrow.
