'Throw Israel soldiers to the sea' educational game at Belgian Catholic school

Hardly does a week go by in Belgium without a few NGOs - which receive generous funds from the government - organizing anti-Israel events.

In Flanders alone, during the last weekend of September, several such events took place.  The city of Antwerp [!] - repeat the city of Antwerp [!] - supported, for the second year running, a "Day for Palestine". No wonder that the Antwerp Jewish community is moving out. At Bredene, NGO Belgium to Gaza held an information and sales booth at a fair.  On the 30th, there was a debate in the Herent parish hall on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

But what happened at the Heilig Hart en College (Sacred Heart College) in Halle is so sick that it beggars belief. It is worrying that a reputable Catholic school sees nothing wrong that Catholic adults exhort kids to symbolically but very physically shoot at Israelly/Jewish soldiers and throw them into the sea.  In fact, killing them.

The city, run by a right wing coalition (CD&V, N-VA et VLD), had granted permission for the event "Gaza Terminal" to be held in front of the Halle train station to ensure maximum public exposure.

In the event, because of bad weather conditions, it was transferred to the school gym hall.  The organiser was Griet Deknopper,  a Belgian woman who took part in the flotilla supposed to break the Gaza siege.  She used to be involved in Chiro, the Flemish catholic scouts, and is the niece of a CD&V alderman.   The usual anti-Israel crowd always resorts to the same propaganda methods (flea markets, BBQs, music, anti-Israël propaganda: boycott calls, accusations against Dexia bank, leaflets by the far left-islam party Egalité whose incitement is well documented).

"Throw the soldiers [Israelly Jews] to the sea with your coins!"

The idea was to raise money to fund a Belgian "hate" flotilla for Gaza. And Griet Deknopper did a re-run of what she had done in Ghent [Belgian NGO incites children to shoot at Israeli soldiers at the Ghent Fair ]. At the entrance of the hall, there were two buckets full of water with two toy boats carryng figurines representing Israelly/Jewish soldiers.  Above an inscription read:   "Throw the soldiers [Israelly Jews,...] to the sea with your coins!".  Deknopper, who is a teacher, and the organisers know all the ropes and didn't not write Jew/Israelly/Zionist to avoid trouble.  A sickening invitation to enact symbolic murder.  Everybody knows what the injunction "throw the Jews to the sea" means.

Any doubt about the hostile intentions of the organisers would have been promptly dispelled at the sight of Myriam Vandecan's car parked in front of the school.  She is the head of two NGOs (Vlaams Palestina Komité and Codip), both known for having distributed books with antisemitc overtones in various schools. On her car were displayed the following slogans : "Boycot Israel" and "Israel = Zionism = Racism = Apartheid".

This type of game-incitement in a reputable Catholic school seems to be a new phenomenom.  Neither the school nor the education body responsible (board of governors) for the school (M. Jos Vansantvoet) found that there was anything wrong. When contacted by a contributor to this blog, M. Vansantvoet declined to comment.

In 1940 Jews were rounded up and sent to a prison in Halle pending deportation to the St Cyprien camp in France.  Seventy years later, at Halle innocent children are told by adults to kill Jewish-Israelly soldiers.

Then as now, the city and the school claim that "Wir haben es nicht gewusst" ("We didn't know").

Myriam Vandecan's car parked in front of the school

Anti-Israel literature (note Carlos Latuff's drawing on the cover of a brochure).  Wikipedia: Latuff has also participated and was placed second, winning $4,000, in the 2006 Iranian International Holocaust Cartoon Competition.

Ghent in July (juillet) :