The demonstration on Museumplein had an end time of 9 p.m. and many of the demonstrators had already left by then. There was only a small group of demonstrators standing near the fences.
Grim atmosphere
AT5 spoke of ‘a grim atmosphere’ around 8 p.m. There was a disturbance between protesters at the protest and the police. First smoke bombs were set off and then a number of demonstrators broke through the fences. The police then pushed the demonstrators back to the protest on Museumplein; several demonstrators were arrested.
There have been several confrontations between demonstrators from both groups during the pro-Palestine demonstration, the silent protest and the pro-Israel demonstration. At the counter-demonstration on De Lairessestraat, a minute’s silence was held for the attack in the Australian city of Sydney, which authorities said was a terrorist attack against the Jewish community.
Ties with the military
There is a lot to say about cantor Shai Abramson’s performance. He was initially scheduled to perform during the annual Hanukkah concert, but the Concertgebouw canceled the concert due to Abramson’s ties with the Israeli army, where he sings about the war in Gaza, among other things.
“His presence is at odds with the Concertgebouw’s mission to connect people with music,” the Concertgebouw previously said.
Uproar
The decision caused a lot of commotion. Several pro-Israel organizations accused the Concertgebouw of excluding the Jewish community. There were also several demonstrations outside the Concertgebouw.
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