The front of the city hall in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was defaced by an anti-Israel activist with red paint last Wednesday, July 17.
The front of the city hall was closed off, while the outer facade was cleaned of red paint.
At first, the perpetrator’s identity was unknown. Still, Deputy Mayor Robert Simons said in a statement that „police are doing everything they can to catch these perpetrators as soon as possible.”
„I strongly condemn this hopeless anonymous action,” said Simons. „What do the perpetrators want to say with this?”
However, activists communicated through Palestine Action Netherlands the next day, explaining that they had defaced the hall in protest of the civil service pension fund Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP over alleged investments in companies that have financial relationships with Israeli entities, reports The Jerusalem Post. Some of the companies supposedly operate in Israeli settlements.
„This is the blood money of the Netherlands,” the activists said. „Invested for the sake of a good life here, at the expense of Palestinian lives there. This is what institutional complicity in Palestinian suffering looks like.”
Palestine Action Netherlands called for further activism against ABP, demanding that they divest from Israeli companies and pay reparations for „complicity.” The vandalism group called on government employees to call for the divestment and urged its supporters to pressure ABP by contacting the pension fund’s officials.
„If demands are not met, escalate,” said the vandalism group in its statement.
Photo credit: Rotterdam Municipality
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