Netherlands: ‘The Red Line’ against the Gaza war puts mounting pressure on the government

The Red Line demonstration in The Hague on 18 May attracted more than 100,000 participants and was the largest demonstration in the Netherlands since the trade union demonstration on Museumplein in October 2004, more than 20 years ago. It is clear that the mood in the Netherlands is shifting.

[Originally published in Dutch at marxisten.nl]

The demonstrators had gathered in The Hague dressed in red to draw a clear ‘red line’. This was a reference to a meeting between Prime Minister Schoof and a number of large NGOs (Oxfam, Amnesty, PaX, Doctors without Borders) in April, who asked him to call for a ceasefire, to which he replied that he would not “draw a red line”.

Israel’s actions in Gaza, with the bombing of aid workers and the blocking of aid supplies, are so clearly genocidal in nature that it is becoming clear to more and more people in the Netherlands that this cannot and must not continue.

A poll by EenVandaag (13 May) shows that 62 percent of the Dutch population wants the cabinet to be more critical of Israel, including 31 percent of voters for Geert Wilders’ populist right-wing party, the PVV, which is extremely pro-Israel and has ties with the Israeli right. An earlier poll by Motivaction (1 May) shows that 48 percent of the population believes that a genocide is taking place in Gaza (compared to just 12 percent who do not).

There is therefore a major shift taking place in what Dutch people think about the war in Gaza. For historical reasons, the Dutch ruling class has traditionally been strongly pro-Israeli, with economic investments, trade and military cooperation going back to the 1950s. The Netherlands gave military support during the Six Day and Yom Kippur wars and was the only country besides the USA that suffered from the Arab oil boycott in 1973 as a result. 

The Netherlands and Israel

The ruling class has used the high number of Jewish victims in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation in the Second World War to rally the middle class and working class behind its policy, playing on feelings of guilt. Protestant churches played an important role in rallying the small-town middle class and Christian workers behind Israel with religious arguments.

However, the leaders of the labour movement also played a decisive role in this. The Labour Party (PvdA) was strongly pro-Zionist until the 1990s and had strong ties with Israeli Labour Zionism. It presented Israel as a model country of ‘democratic socialism’, because of the then welfare state and the kibbutzim, ignoring the plight of the Palestinians. During the Yom Kippur War confused ‘anti-capitalist’ statements could even be heard about not bending the knees to the oil companies and their Arab allies, and in support of the Jewish ‘socialist’ state!

The Communist Party of the Netherlands itself had an ambiguous position and initially supported the founding of Israel, although later it became more critical of its policies. Real criticism of Israel was only found in the margin, by real Marxists and as well as sectarian groups.

With both the ruling class and the leaders of the labour movement strongly backing Israel, the Netherlands has historically had less of a pro-Palestinian solidarity tradition than other countries, although the younger generations lacks the strong pro-Israeli sentiment of their parents.

When the Israeli attack on Gaza began after 7 October 2023, it was initially mainly traditional activists, Dutch people with an Arab and/or Muslim background, and radical left-wing young people who took action. The bourgeois parties and media, together with the ‘centre-left’, shouted about ‘Israel's right to defend itself’ and the fate of the hostages, whilst pro-Palestinian activism was equated with Hamas sympathies.

Advocating for a two-state solution and condemning the violence of both Israel and Hamas was allowed; but any analysis that did not treat Israel and the Palestinians as equal parties in the conflict or did not support the Zionist-capitalist state of Israel’s ‘right to exist’ was treated as extremist and beyond the Pale.

It is clear that this is not about the hostages, but about Netanyahu remaining in power / Image: own work

The ongoing destruction in Gaza, with over 50,000 dead, the bombing of hospitals, aid workers, etc., etc., has exposed their lies. It is clear that this is not about the hostages, but about Netanyahu remaining in power, making concessions to his extreme right-wing coalition partners regarding the ethnic cleansing of both Gaza and the West Bank.

The government of Dick Schoof is now also beginning to see that the mood is changing. Foreign Affairs Minister Veldkamp argued within the EU against extending the EU-Israel Association Agreement and for an investigation into its compliance. While the investigation is ongoing, the EU would not be able to enter into any new cooperation agreements. Given that the Netherlands has traditionally represents the particularly pro-Israel camp within the EU, this indicates growing social pressure to be seen to do something.

Of course, this is half-hearted and hypocritical, and the Dutch ruling class (like that of other EU countries) hopes that a more ‘rational’ (i.e. more liberal) Israeli government will replace Netanyahu, one that advocates a two-state solution at some point down the line in words, after which it will be business as usual for the EU.

The coalition parties BBB (Farmers’ Citizens Movement) and PVV are continuing their extreme pro-Israel course and are using the issue to dismiss Muslim immigrants and pro-Palestinian students as ‘antisemites’ and ‘Hamas supporters’. Given the participation of these parties in the ruling coalition, Veldkamp’s slightly critical shift has increased tensions within the cabinet.

The most reactionary politicians, publicists and media – De Telegraaf in particular – are struggling to cope with shifting opinions on Israel and are pushing hatred and slander against those who stand up for the Palestinian cause with even greater force.

Reactionaries are now using an incident on 14 May, where conservative residents in the small town of Katwijk violently attacked a local pro-Palestinian demo. They are depicted as ‘real popular resistance against enforced pro-Palestinian opinions’, but the polls clearly show that a majority of Dutch people oppose Israel’s actions.

Even among voters for right-wing parties, enthusiasm for Israel is no longer running high. Indeed, many PVV voters would prefer Wilders to do something for Dutch workers, as he has always demagogically promised and which they expect him to deliver on as a coalition partner – an expectation that he is disappointing.

A reasonable middle ground?

‘The Red Line’ demonstration was organised by large humanitarian NGOs, with support from the FNV trade union federation, but also from centre-left and liberal parties. These parties, which initially supported Israel unequivocally, now invoke ‘international law’ and similar arguments and are calling on the government to take a more critical stance.

They want to show that this demonstration was qualitatively different from previous demonstrations organised by the Palestine solidarity and university encampment movements. There was even talk of fears that the Red Line demonstration would be ‘hijacked’ by Palestine demonstrators!

It is true that this demonstration was much larger than any other pro-Palestinian demonstration in the Netherlands to date, but that is not because moderate liberals and the centre-left are now involved. The point is that new layers are becoming involved for the first time because they are fed up with the slaughter.

But the massive, 100,000-strong Red Line demonstration would not have been possible without the ‘controversial’ and ‘extreme’ demonstrations that have taken place since October 2023. The mobilisations that have taken place in various cities, at train stations, and by students at universities (demanding that ties with Israeli institutions be severed) have put this issue on the agenda.

Pro-Palestinian students in particular have suffered from extreme police violence, which has stoked anger. The ‘reasonable middle ground’ liberals and centre-left were nowhere to be seen at the time.

As social pressure is now growing, the ‘reasonable middle ground’ has jumped on the bandwagon to criticise the government’s position on Israel, in order to capitalise on it with fine phrases about ‘international law’ and a ‘two-state solution’. And yet, at the same time, on 10 April, the Labour Party, GreenLeft, Volt and D66 (two liberal, pro-EU parties) all voted against a motion for a total arms embargo on Israel.

The Red Line demonstration has shown that a turning point is being reached. It is the task of the labour movement to help advance the movement further. The FNV trade union federation, having supported this demonstration, must go further, and take up the initiatives of Trade Union Members in Solidarity with Palestine and similar groups – groups which until now have been tolerated within limits, but certainly not supported by the FNV leadership! The FNV, being the largest workers’ organisation in the Netherlands, must take the lead in escalating action against the Dutch ruling class and the Schoof government that has supported the Israeli war machine.

• No illusions in the liberals!
• For a complete arms embargo on Israel, on imports and exports!
• Mobilise the labour movement to stop all transport and distribution that supports the Israeli war machine!
• Down with the Schoof government, which supports Israel’s actions and advocates militarisation, while attacking the working class at home!