gelatik
29.05.02, 22:45
AMSTERDAM, May 29 – The Jewish Union in Holland, a non-government organization
which represents Dutch Jews, announced Monday, May 27, that they are going to
present a complaint to the preliminary court in Amsterdam in order to sue Greta
Duisenberg, wife of the European Central Bank for being “anti-Semitic”.
Duisenberg hung the Palestinian flag outside the balcony of her home in
Amsterdam, which angered the Dutch media known for its bias towards Israel. The
media has attacked pro-Palestinian demonstrations and have tried to pressure
the Dutch government to reassess its attitude regarding the Palestinian crisis.
Algemeen Dagblad, a daily Dutch newspaper, quoted Tuesday, May 28, Vicken De
Leo, the liberal party member of the Amsterdam Municipal Council. Saying that
it was Duisenberg’s neighbor who was leading the condemnation campaign and
suing her.
The paper said that Duisenberg refused the pressures that were placed on her by
her neighbors and her husband’s friends along with the media and has insisted
on keeping the Palestinian flag hung outside her balcony.
In an interview published by the Dutch Telegraph newspaper, Greta said: “I am
the one responsible for hanging the flag outside my balcony and not my husband
Wim. I have raised this flag in a demonstration I took part in, in Amsterdam
and decided to hang it to show my continuing support.”
She added that she was not satisfied with the way Holland and Europe are
dealing with Sharon’s government actions in the Palestinian cities during the
last few weeks and that she insists on her position.
“I am an independent thinking woman and responsible for my actions. Both my
husband and I own this house which means I can practice my beliefs here,” she
said.
She added that raising the flag outside her balcony means that she supports the
Palestinians in their struggle defending themselves against the aggression of
the Israeli government.
Duisenberg said that her husband being one of the most important personalities
in Europe does not restrict her freedom in expressing her opinion and that her
husband respects her independence as much as she respects his rights to have
his own stances.
Dutch papers have recently attacked Muslim demonstrators who burnt the Israeli
flag in a pro-Palestinian demonstrations that were held in the Dutch capital
during the month of April. They regarded that as an indication of the end of
the Jewish control over the city and the start of a new era in which Muslims
are controlling the city.
The mayor of Amsterdam, Cohen, who is of Jewish origins, appeared in the Dutch
media angry at the burning of the Israeli flag in his city, which is the first
time this has taken place ever since Israel came into existence in 1947.
Despite being a minority in terms of numbers, Jews are influential politically,
economically in Holland. They also control the media. The authorities have
always appointed a Jewish mayor for the city in recognition of the role that
was played by the Jews in the flourishing of the city. They had came as
refugees when the Inquisition started, after the fall of Muslim Spain (Al-
Andalus) in the fifteenth century.
The recent events in Palestine and the second intifada have pushed the Muslim
minority in the city to overcome their differences and to unite in huge
demonstrations which many felt threatened the “Jewishness” of the city.
The official reports say that Muslim population has far exceeded the Jewish
population, reaching 20 per cent from the population of Amsterdam.
Dutch sources have revealed that nearly 50 per cent of the newborns during the
next twenty years will be Muslim which means a central change in the social,
cultural and political structure of the city which is one of the most important
economic centers in Europe.
