Pro-Gaza activists stage protest in Amsterdam department store


Tariq Tahir
  • English
  • Arabic

Pro-Gaza activists staged a protest and appeared to take over an Amsterdam department store tannoy system.

Campaign group Workers for Palestine urged shoppers at De Bijenkorf to shun brands with alleged links to Israel.

The protest came as demonstrators disrupted Christmas shopping in Oxford Street in London calling for the boycott of what they claimed were “pro-Israel” brands.

In a video from Workers for Palestine on its Instagram account, a woman’s voice can be heard over a loudspeaker saying “we invite you to stop shopping while the bombs are dropping” and the deaths in Gaza were “funded by your tax money”.

More than 20,600 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7.

The announcement then claimed that buying products from brands such as “L’Oreal, Channel and Dior” helps what the organisers called Israel’s “genocide on the Palestinians” in Gaza.

Leaflets were distributed and strewn across the floor of the Amsterdam department store with shoppers told: “Christmas is cancelled, drop your shopping bags and boycott the brands.”

Workers for Palestine told The National the protest was held simultaneously across Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Paris.

Protests in the other Dutch cities and Brussels were similar to that in Amsterdam. In Berlin, activists disrupted a shopping centre by placing a nativity scene in the rubble to represent the current situation in Gaza.

The aim of the Christmas protests was “to shift the narrative, encouraging the global community to reflect on their role in perpetuating the ongoing genocide and to stand united against injustice”.

It's unclear if the message heard by shoppers was through the store's tannoy and Workers for Palestine would not say if they managed to take it over.

De Bijenkorf has been approached for comment.

The protest came the same day hundreds marched on London's Oxford Street, Regent Street and Carnaby Street, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Palestinian protesters drop leaflets inside a store in Amsterdam. Photo: Workers for Palestine Netherlands
Palestinian protesters drop leaflets inside a store in Amsterdam. Photo: Workers for Palestine Netherlands

Some used the same “while you're shopping, bombs are dropping” chant outside two Zara stores, both of which had closed and were guarded by security.

Some chanted: “Zara, Zara, you can't hide, stop supporting genocide”.

Earlier this month, Zara pulled an ad following complaints that it contained pictures resembling images from the Israel-Gaza war.

The campaign, called The Jacket, contained a series of images in which the model was pictured against a background of cracked stones, damaged statues and broken plasterboard.

Zara said the campaign presented “a series of images of unfinished sculptures in a sculptor's studio and was created with the sole purpose of showcasing craft-made garments in an artistic context”.

However, some viewers suggested they were similar to images emerging from Gaza.

The company said it regretted a “misunderstanding” about the campaign images after some customers “saw in them something far from what was intended when they were created”.

Protesters also chanted “shut it down” outside a Puma store on Carnaby Street.

The sports company was included on a list of brands to boycott on leaflets handed out to shoppers. Calls to boycott Puma stem from the firm's sponsorship of Israel's national football team.

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg

Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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Countries recognising Palestine

France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra

 

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Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

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Based: Dubai

Industry: Food Technology

Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount

Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia

Total Clients: Over 50

Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites

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It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.

“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.

The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

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PROFILE OF INVYGO

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Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri

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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

ESSENTIALS

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Baby Driver

Director: Edgar Wright

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James

Three and a half stars

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It's up to you to go green

Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.

“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”

When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.

He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.

“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.

One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.  

The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.

Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.

But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”

Updated: December 27, 2023, 9:22 AM