Can a ship with Israeli defense material moor in the port of Rotterdam? No, say campaigners

One can hear it in the town hall. An approval shout sounds outside when a speaker says that the Rotterdam municipal administration is ‘directly responsible’ for ‘mass murder and genocide’. There is a stroping on drums. A woman is sitting on the edge of the stairs and writes on cardboard: ‘Maersk your mother’ and ‘no weapons through our harbor’.

Seventy -year -old Els – her last name is not allowed in the newspaper – has taken a photo of the statue of Ossip Zadkine, which reminds us of the 1940 bombing. She is there because she feels a ‘moral duty’. « Rotterdam is also bombed flat. They should kill Zadkine a Palestinian scarf. »

The protest, set up by action group Give counter gas, revolves around a ship from Rederij Maersk, which moored on Wednesday morning in the port of Rotterdam. The ship is said to come from Israel and transports parts of F35 combat flies according to data from the Palestinian Jouth Movement.

In a letter, a colorful group of action groups Mayor Carola Schouten called on Tuesday to have the ship on the way to the United States and makes a stopover here. According to them, the city facilitates the « military logistics chain » of Israel. In their eyes, that makes Rotterdam « complicit in this genocide ».

The city council meets on Thursday about the issue. In the run -up to the council meeting, around 150 people gathered with flags and banners at the town hall on Wednesday evening. In addition to the action groups, three political parties also signed under the letter to the mayor.

Transit route

« If you make your port available for this, you are a bit complicit, » says councilor Theo Coşkun (SP). « This is Rotterdam territory. Then you cannot say: it is not our role. We have the task of putting everything in it to prevent what happens in Gaza. That is how every citizen should be in life. »

Judith Bokhove, chairman of GroenLinks, finds the formulation that Rotterdam is complicit in genocide ‘too firm’. « But we do have our responsibility. If you do not act as a city, you also send a signal. We think the war should stop. And therefore also that we should not facilitate it. »

We must make our voice heard. In all layers of political governance. Certainly when such a ship enters our port

Rotterdammers are not allowed to get much of it, continuously the important port city is used as a transit route for weapon transport sports. A trade that « logically results from the role of Rotterdam as an international port, » said Wapenexport expert Frank Slijper. « Everything is being implemented, so also weapons and military equipment. »

It is therefore not just about Israel, says Bokhove. The position of Rotterdam as an international transit port for weapons is concerned. « The port is close to Rotterdam. The fact that weapons are being implemented brings safety risks. In this way you also involve Rotterdam in an international conflict. »

Regulatorship

With the issue, the war violence in the Gaza Strip reaches Rotterdam politics again in a short time. As a result of an online petition, the city council spoke with a narrow majority against Israeli violence last week. The question that the council chamber distributes is whether it is up to the local administration to be involved.

« We all understand that foreign policy is up to the House of Representatives, » says PvdA councilor Sarah Reitema. « But with these kinds of violations of international law we have to make our voice heard. In all layers of political governance: as a municipality, district council and Brussels. And certainly when such a ship enters our port. »

Leefbaar Rotterdam, the largest fraction in the council, thinks differently. « We don’t think it is appropriate to import an international conflict into the city, » says councilor Sebastiaan Bonte. « I think that left -wing parties do not set the right priorities. We are talking about Gaza every week, but we are not about that. »

He speaks of « selective indignation. » “In this way you can supply chain investigate. The world comes in the port of Rotterdam. It is very one-sided anti-Israel. For some convenience, it is forgotten who the war started. It must stop, that is clear. But what are we going to do about it in Rotterdam? « 

Spain

Governments can refuse a ship with unwelcome content. For example, Spain, one of the most Israel-critical EU member states, denied a ship with weapons last year Access to the port of Cartagena. The ship transported 27 tons of explosive material and had Israel as a destination.

It is unlikely that Rotterdam will simply make the same assessment. The city council, supported by Leefbaar Rotterdam, VVD, D66 and DENK, is more cautious about the conflict than Amsterdam, where Mayor Femke Halsema called on the cabinet last week to call Israel to order.

We do not think it is appropriate to import an international conflict into the city

« A lot of people feel that they can only watch powerlessly, » said Coşkun. « We can do something now: these ships are keeping. Many drops are needed on the glowing plate to ensure that Israel is scratching the ears. This is one of the drops that we can add as Rotterdam. »

A spokesperson for the mayor says he would not want to move forward on Thursday’s debate when asked.

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