Suddenly, 100,000 people rose up to protest the genocide in Gaza

But was it really all of a sudden? What did it take to get people out on the streets en masse for the first time in 20 years?
Commentators in the media point to a shift in public opinion, making it seem like some kind of natural phenomenon. But the reality is more complex. The media overlooks the hard work of the social movement that made it happen.

It’s true that the disgust over the bloodbath Israel is causing in Gaza grows by the day. While the shock of the Hamas attack initially divided public opinion, even back then, 48% of Dutch people already thought Israel’s response was disproportionate. That number has now risen to 57%. Support for the government’s position has dropped from 29% to just 15%, according to IPSOS.

The genocide in Gaza was something to be furious about from the very beginning. But mass demonstrations require more than just anger. Most major protest waves start with a trigger event. The breaking of the ceasefire by Israel on March 18, and the killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics on March 23, were those triggers.

It broke through the (in my view, excruciating) “balanced” framing of the genocide. Throughout April, several prominent opinion-makers and politicians shifted from a ‘neutral’ stance to clearly stating, ‘this is genocide.’ And yes, I understand the reaction from activists shouting “why only now?” But you do need these opinion leaders to make a position go mainstream—starting from the cowardly first step of the CDA to the call by Femke Halsema.

Anger, a shifting public opinion, and a trigger event—even that’s not enough. This massive demonstration would not have been possible without the activists, students, teachers, members of the Palestinian diaspora, and others who, from the very beginning of the war, kept taking action and confronting public opinion with the sheer hypocrisy of the Dutch position on the genocide in Gaza. And those who have been committed to the Palestinian cause since the Nakba in 1948.

From the bold and disruptive actions of students to the lawsuits and lobbying by NGOs, this constant pressure was essential to force everyone who wanted to remain ‘neutral’ to choose a side. And just like with climate protests, we see that although the general public often rejects activists for their sharp tone and confrontational tactics, that same public does move along. The anger stayed on the political agenda, and the Overton window shifted. At the same time, the bold actions increased the perceived need for a more mainstream protest.

What also strongly contributed were the outrageously racist remarks from the other side. The open calls for genocide by Israeli ministers, Geert Wilders’ tweets, the hypocritical accusations from CIDI—anyone who wanted to remain neutral found it increasingly impossible to do so in the face of this extremist rhetoric.

And last but not least, those 100,000 people would never have taken to the streets if a number of large and small NGOs hadn’t joined forces and worked hard behind the scenes: email blasts through organizational mailing lists that reach hundreds of thousands, social media ads, engaging influencers and artists, persuading allies to help mobilize, encouraging journalists to generate news in the days leading up to the demonstration. A major protest like the one on May 18 takes months of hard work.

And that work doesn’t stop on May 18. A mass protest makes it tangible and deeply felt for many people that anger over the genocide in Gaza has gone mainstream—and that they are not alone. It puts tremendous pressure on political parties trying to position themselves in the "center" while watching their own base march past them. But it has no impact on far-right politicians like Wilders, who cheer on the genocide. Nor on the far-right Israeli government. One protest won’t change that.

Now begins the hard work of persuading those 100,000 people to take a step further: to go back into the streets, to pressure companies and institutions to cut economic ties with Israel, to speak up at work or at family gatherings. In short, to turn their opinion into a political force capable of compelling the Dutch government to act against Israel—or to put pressure on the Israeli occupation from outside the government altogether.

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Check out the Joop article (in Dutch) here.

And check out the podcast De Linkse Revolte (in Dutch) with Peter as a guest here on YouTube or here on Spotify.