Strychnine is a highly toxic, colorless alkaloid used as a pesticide, which leads to convulsions and then death through asphyxia if ingested.
Members in a WhatsApp group for left-wing activists in Portugal were plotting to poison Israelis at the upcoming Boom Festival, Sarah (not her real name) told KAN News on Monday.
They also intended to defecate on the Israelis’ tents and urinate in their food.
Sarah, a Jewish woman who chose to remain anonymous, said that she entered the group chat through her work as an artist. She imagined that the other group members were not aware that she was Jewish.
“Their idea was to infiltrate the Boom Festival (set to take place in July), because a lot of Israelis go there after serving in the IDF. The group felt that it was unfair that [Israelis] should be allowed to be included,” Sarah said.
“At first, the idea was quite a mess, but then they began to organize themselves. What started with just silly ideas then began to take shape as plans. And as you can see, it’s truly sinister,” she continued.
One of the texts read, “They are all pretty much IOF [Israel Occupation Forces] veterans, boys and girls. I was thinking of giving them a taste of their own medicine.
“Wake them up and let them know that they are getting a humanitarian warning to leave their tents, make sure they are at a safe(ish) distance away, and then torch their tent. I’d let them know that I am the most moral arsonist in the world and then give them the strychnine drop to cheer them up.”
Another reads: “Oh, c’mon, strychnine in their acid is not the dismemberment of babies… they are all former or current IOF after all… what’s a little strychnine to people who have torn babies to shreds while wearing [the babies’] mother’s stolen underwear?”
A third says, “The entire world needs to adopt this tactic [of boycotting] wherever Israelis are found.”
Strychnine is a highly toxic, colorless alkaloid used as a pesticide, which leads to convulsions and then death through asphyxia if ingested.
Sarah told KAN that she was also on a group phone call where similar plans were expressed, although she said the plans on the phone call were “worse.”
“There were plans to defecate on Israelis’ tents, urinate in their food, set their tents on fire, and put bad substances inside other substances they may take. Other plans included making Israelis feel uncomfortable or attacking them,” she added.
Sarah told the news outlet that, as a Jewish woman, she felt “absolutely appalled” by this.
“First of all, our nature party scene has always been very inclusive. We become one when we are on the dance floor,” Sarah said.
“So, reading these vile, racist, actually criminal plans to hurt Israeli people, especially after what happened on October 7, was appalling to me,” she added.
Festival organizers ‘did nothing about it’
Sarah said that she approached the festival organizers first about what she had heard and seen, but that “nothing has been done about it.”
“This is why I scrambled to try and warn the 4000 Israelis who I know are coming. They need to be careful and know that there is a plan in place to hurt them,” she said.
Sarah also spoke to the police, whom she said “did not take her seriously.”
“After what we saw in Washington and Boulder and France, it’s imperative that this is taken seriously,” she urged.
Sarah then told KAN that she herself has recently emigrated from Poland due to “institutionalized antisemitism.” This included being spat on when she wore her Star of David and hostage tags in public.
