The Netherlands opens the museum for the Holocaust/ The Israeli president is expected with protests

2024-03-10 20:03:09, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Netherlands opens the museum for the Holocaust/ The Israeli president is

Israel's President Isaac Herzog, who attended the opening ceremony of a Holocaust museum in Amsterdam today, called for prayers for peace and the immediate release of those who were taken hostage by Hamas in the October 7 attack and who are still being held by the militant group .

But after arriving at the Portuguese Synagogue to speak, Mr Herzog was met with boos from pro-Palestinian protesters who called for an immediate halt to Israel's assault on Gaza.

"Hate and anti-Semitism are spreading all over the world and we must fight together," Mr. Herzog said in his speech.

The Netherlands opens the museum for the Holocaust/ The Israeli president is

In a square next to it, protesters were calling for an "immediate ceasefire" and "an end to attacks on children" while holding Palestinian flags and placards reading "Jews against genocide" and "Enough with the Holocaust in Gaza".

Some protesters lit fires and threw eggs at the police. Some of them tried to cross the police cordon as the protest became tense in the afternoon. Local media reported that at least a thousand protesters took part in the protest.

"His presence here is a slap in the face to the victims in Gaza," said protester Huibert Boer.

The Netherlands opens the museum for the Holocaust/ The Israeli president is

Near the new museum, a group of protesters holding Israeli flags and pictures of hostages clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters, some of them shouting "shame", while police authorities were present to prevent tensions from escalating.

The human rights organization Amnesty International had placed directional signs around the museum directing President Herzog to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

A spokesperson for the President declined to comment to the Reuters news agency.

In a statement, the museum announced that it had invited Mr. Herzog before the Hamas attack and Israel's subsequent attack on Gaza. The statement said the museum acknowledged that the President's participation raised questions, but that he represented the homeland of Dutch Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel.

Nazi Germany killed 6 million Jews during World War II. Modern Israel was founded in 1948 as a safe place for Jews./ VOA