Just stand by it. Just organize a collective mourning meeting in which eighteen million people feel involved. It is accessible to everyone, in person, online or via radio and TV. That makes an impression, makes you think and touches the hearts. Who does justice to the dead and their relatives. But it also inspires and connects others, for example newcomers. One that is recognisable, unique and moves with the times. That is worthy, relevant and safe.
That is the task of the National Committee 4 and 5 May, the Amsterdam triangle and the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security, who together organize the National Remembrance Day on Saturday on Dam Square. Mayor Femke Halsema is at the center. The mayor is not only responsible on behalf of the triangle (chief public prosecutor, police chief, mayor), but also an important speaker during the ceremony.
And she can’t actually do it well in these tense times.
If she uses last year’s script and gives everyone unlimited access to Dam Square, she says there is a good chance that the commemoration will be disrupted by demonstrators who draw attention to the situation in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 35,000 since October 7. killed people. If the silence is disturbed at eight o’clock and chaos ensues, the country is too small and Halsema is blamed.
If she does not allow the public to enter Dam Square – corona style – to eliminate any chance of disruption, she will deprive people of the opportunity to be present at that magical moment in the heart of the commemoration. This goes against the spirit of the commemoration and the wishes of the Committee. She will also be accused of being weak at the knees for allegedly bowing to demonstrators without respect.
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Umbrellas
So – with an emergency ordinance published on Thursday – she chooses a middle path: this year a maximum of ten thousand people will be admitted to the commemoration, half as many as last year. The public had to register in advance and was searched on the spot. Flags, megaphones and umbrellas are not allowed. The audience is then divided into compartments. That may not look nice, but it allows the police to intervene more quickly if there are any disruptions, and the chance of oppression is smaller.
Yet there is also criticism of this, for example from people who were offline or busy on Tuesday – when the accreditation obligation was suddenly announced and ten thousand registrations were immediately received. Others don’t like having to report to Dam Square at half past five on Saturday and then have to stand there for hours.
Still others have difficulty allowing themselves to be touched – even though this will be superficial according to the emergency ordinance. Holocaust survivors and their descendants may find it unpleasant to register, as it is reminiscent of the registration of Jews during World War II.
According to the local channel AT5, which surveyed more than 2,300 people, one in five Amsterdam residents who would have actually wanted to go to Dam Square would have decided against it because of the tension – despite all the precautions – or precisely because of these measures. A large majority of respondents can understand the measures.
Legal lesson
Then the question is what to do with people who want to use Remembrance Day to draw attention to another cause. The mayor cannot and does not want to prohibit demonstrations, that is a fundamental right. But the National Remembrance Day on Dam Square is also constitutionally protected as an event. The mayor is obliged to ensure that this can continue unhindered.
To comply with the Constitution, she wants to place demonstrators out of sight and hearing distance of Dam Square. There was strong criticism in various media from legal scholars, who saw this as an unacceptable restriction of the right to demonstrate. Halsema, clearly irritated, gave them a legal lesson via LinkedIn on Wednesday.
But, assuming she is right, the demonstrators must make their wish known in advance. If people enter Dam Square without making a fuss and suddenly start shouting during the silence, it is too late. The police may take action in that case, but this must be proportionate. And not lead to more disorder than the disruption itself.
So what to do with people who dress up in the colors of the Palestinian flag? Can you conclude from this that they want to disrupt the commemoration, and do you want to ban them? What to do with silent protest? People turning their backs on the ceremony? This will be a difficult decision under great time pressure, not only for the triangle, but also for the hundreds of agents who will be deployed – on which opinions will differ for a long time later.
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Hassle is good
Another dilemma for the mayor: how do you inform the public? By doing it as extensively as she did in recent weeks, she can give people ideas and perhaps even help them circumvent measures. Moreover, pro-Palestinian activists feel collectively portrayed as troublemakers. Another risk is that people will brace themselves during the two minutes of silence, with their ears pricked, instead of turning inward.
But if she had said nothing, the public on Dam Square could be shocked by a disruption and run away, possibly resulting in injuries.
Finally the speech. If the mayor speaks out about the deaths in Gaza, or if she addresses the dismay in the Netherlands about this, she will come into conflict with Jewish interest groups that will rage against anyone who dares to broaden the commemoration. That would dilute the memory of the Holocaust, or worse: be a prelude to anti-Semitism.
But if she does not mention Gaza, she ignores the sadness that is widespread in the Netherlands, especially among young people with a migration background – a target group that the Committee wants to involve more closely in the commemoration. She risks being accused of being more sensitive to the concerns and feelings of the Jewish population than to those of Muslims. And that the motto ‘never like this again’ loses credibility.
The only winner of this public maneuvering – with which Halsema does not really please anyone – may be the tradition itself. History proves: hassle is good for commemoration. Because fuss makes people involved.
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