A proposal from the Green party to remove it was rejected by 27 votes to 24. The ruling majority was split. Antwerp Mayor’s NV-A party received the support of the opposition Vlaams Belang.
The Israeli flag will remain flying at the Antwerp City Hall following a contentious vote Monday evening at the City Council amid heavy police security and large protests.
A proposal to remove the flag, intriduced by the Green party in the City Council to protest the war in Gaza, had received support from other opposition parties—extreme-left PVDA and Christian-Democrat CD&V—as well as from one party from the majority , Socialist Vooruit.
However, the proposal failed to secure a majority, as the center-right N-VA (New Flemish Alliance) ruling party of Mayor Els van Doesburg’s received support from the far-right Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest). The motion was defeated by 27 votes to 24, meaning the flag will remain in place.
The flying of the Israeli flag at Antwerp City Hall is part of a decades-old municipal protocol where the city flies the flags of all nations with an official consulate in Antwerp during the summer tourist season.
Antwerp Mayor Els van Doesburg from N-VA (the party of Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever) has so far refused to remove the flag. As long as the Belgian Foreign Ministry does not issue explicit guidelines, there is no reason to change the existing protocol, she said. “The Israeli flag is part of the flag display and will therefore fly at the town hall,’’ she said.
Picture from Courtesy.
The decision to hoist the flag under police supervision has led to ongoing weekly protests and arrests, including a demonstration during Monday’s City Council meeting that led to the detention of the Green party leader Aimen Horch.
Jewish councilman Michael Freilich, from the N-VA party, argued that removing the Israeli flag — and only the Israeli flag — would send the message that there is no place in this world for Israel and that Israel has no right to exist.
He stressed that a national flag represents all citizens of a country, not merely its government. ‘’It also represents members of the opposition, artists, academics, students, children, and many who may – or may not – disagree with the government of the day,’’ he said.