Oud-Beijerland – The Jewish monument Am j’Israel Chai, (‘The people of Israel live’) on the Bierkade next to the harbour of the Spuidorp has been defaced with red paint by unknown persons. This happened in the night of Friday 4 to Saturday 5 April. The monument commemorates the Jewish citizens who were deported and murdered by the occupying forces during the Second World War.
The monument, unveiled on 27 October 1987, is located in the centre of Oud-Beijerland because Jews lived there who were deported to the extermination camps by steam tram during the Second World War. The monument was designed by Marga Vogel-Granada (1948-2019). On the side of the monument is a list of names of the deported families. On the bronze statue is a hand protectively holding a Star of David.
Totally disrespectful
Oranjevereniging Prinses Juliana is devastated by the graffiti. Cobi Crucq is responsible for the annual 4 May commemoration, which is held at the Vrij monument in the Laningpark and at the Jewish monument. ‘We regret this enormously, of course’, she says in an initial response. ‘We still have no idea where this came from, we had no signal or threat. It is a great pity that people cannot make the difference between what is happening now in the country of Israel and what we commemorate on 4 May. These are two completely different things that have nothing to do with each other. On 4 May we commemorate the Jewish victims of the Second World War, which is completely separate from today’s politics. That is why this hurts so much, it is really worrying and completely disrespectful.’
The monument is located in an entertainment area where several cameras are installed. It is possible that images of a perpetrator or perpetrators can be seen on them. This is all still under investigation.
Sending a nice signal
A report has been filed with the police and contact has been made with the municipal council of the municipality of Hoeksche Waard. Whether the monument will be clean again on 4 May is not yet known. Crucq: ‘We do not know what kind of substance it is, paint or graffiti, that all still needs to be investigated. I hope for one thing: that this 4 May commemoration will be even more visited than usual. That would be a nice signal to show that we all continue to support the 4 May commemoration.’
Whether this incident will lead to additional security measures is not yet known. Last year, mounted police were already present to show that extra attention is being paid.
There has been no response from the municipal authorities yet. On Saturday afternoon, people are busy taking photos at the defiled monument and everyone has an opinion. ‘You don’t do this, how can you even think of it’, says a woman who quickly walks on, shaking her head. ‘You used to see something like this in the big city, but unfortunately it’s already in Oud-Beijerland’, says a passer-by. ‘Sad, it’s not getting any more pleasant.’ A visitor watches it all from a nearby restaurant terrace. He remains fairly level-headed about it. ‘I’ve seen quite a few people taking photos, but I haven’t seen anyone with a bucket of soapy water.’
Not only the monument is smeared, further on in the village a slogan is written in red on a fence of a family doctor. It says something like ‘many murders without violence’. That seems to be an explicit reference to the war in Gaza.
