Unesco Removes 'Racist' Belgian Carnival Aalst From Heritage List
Source: The Guardian
Carnival of Aalst included parade float caricaturing Orthodox Jews.
Unesco has removed an annual carnival in the Belgian city of Aalst from its heritage list over persistent charges of antisemitism. In an unprecedented move, Unesco’s intergovernmental committee for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage said it was withdrawing the carnival “over recurring repetition of racist and antisemitic representations” at the event.
The carnival of Aalst, in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders, was initially added to Unesco’s list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2010. But the presence of a parade float caricaturing Orthodox Jews with hooked noses and sitting on gold bags outraged Belgium’s 40,000-strong Jewish community.
Anticipating Unesco’s decision at its meeting in the Colombian capital, Bogotá, Aalst’s mayor, Christoph D’Haese, on Sunday renounced the city’s place on the list before it could be stripped of the designation. “The citizens of Aalst have suffered grotesque accusations,” the mayor said in a press release sent to TV Oost Nieuws, according to Belga news agency. “We are neither antisemitic nor racist. All those who support this are acting in bad faith. Aalst will always remain the capital of mockery and satire.”...
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/13/unesco-removes-racist-belgian-carnival-aalst-from-heritage-list
The Brussels-based European Jewish Association president stated that the Aalst officials were “jumping before they were pushed.” "Despite widespread criticism, despite the clear grotesque antisemitic imagery, despite the opportunity to at least acknowledge the wrong and hurt caused, the mayor of Aalst has consistently remained defiant and mocking,” said EJA president, Menachem Margolin...
Aalst carnival float caricatures orthodox Jews surrounded by money bags and rats.
= new reply since forum marked as read
“We are neither antisemitic nor racist. "
riiiiight
