Anti-Israel activists in the Netherlands on Monday vandalized the headquarters of a Christian Zionist organization that is organizing a mass rally in Amsterdam against antisemitism.
Several activists poured red paint on windows and the facade of the Christians for Israel headquarters in Nijkerk near Amsterdam on Monday morning, shortly after staff and volunteers showed up for work. The activists spray-painted graffiti accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and Christians for Israel of supporting it.
About 15 people besieged the building for three hours, Alexander Blom, a spokesperson for Christians for Israel, told JNS. Police showed up and arrested several people whom Christians for Israel were able to identify, Blom added.
“As you often see with such actions, people act out of ignorance,” Frank van Oordt, the director of Christian for Israel, said in a statement. “This campaign is another example of that. If the activists knew what we stand for, they would not have carried out this action. We feel safe in our building where we now have our beautiful summer exhibition. The building is guarded and absolutely safe for visitors.”
On Sunday, Christians for Israel announced that it was organizing a rally in Amsterdam on Nov. 28 against antisemitism, together with the Center for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI) and other Dutch-Jewish groups.
The demonstration will go through as planned, Blom said. “We are not intimidated and we’re not feeling particularly sorry for ourselves. Dutch Jews have been dealing with such intimidation for years.”
The Nijkerk building is the world headquarters of Christians for Israel, an international organization established in Nijkerk 45 years ago by the late pro-Israel activist Karel van Oordt and run by his family today. The building is a mix of a community center, a vehicle for advocacy, and a department store for made-in-Israel goods.
The first act of vandalism against Christians for Israel in its history happened in July. Two far-left activists spray-painted messages about Gaza on the building.
Monday’s attack was orchestrated by three far-left groups, including Extinction Rebellion Netherlands, which was also behind the July attack.
The rally against antisemitism being organized by Christians for Israel is scheduled to take place on the eve of the 77th anniversary of the U.N. General Assembly Partition Plan vote that validated the establishment of the State of Israel in 1947. The venue is Dam Square, the site of a large monument for victims of World War II, including the 75% of Dutch Jews murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators.
On Nov. 7, at least 100 Arab men assaulted dozens of Israelis on Dam Square as they were returning from a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and the local Ajax team. The country’s largest-scale antisemitic event since the Holocaust, it has reminded many local Jews and others of the lead-up to the genocide.
“We will come together at Dam Square in Amsterdam to show our solidarity with the Jewish community. Under the motto: ‘We stand with our Jews,’ we want to stand up together against antisemitism and Jew-hatred,” Christians for Israel wrote about the planned protest.
Christians for Israel has organized several demonstrations against antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023, sometimes providing most of the participants.
