Antwerp has been roiled for months by a dispute over the city’s decision to fly the Israeli flag at City Hall, despite early objections and the war in Gaza. What began as a routine seasonal flag protocol has escalated into street protests, vandalism, political infighting, and concrete death threats against Mayor Els Van Doesburg and her young son.
Each summer, from June 15 to September 15, Antwerp displays nearly 100 flags on the facade of the historic Schoon Verdiep at Grote Markt. Because Belgium maintains diplomatic relations with Israel, the flag was raised as one of 94 national flags under the city’s rules. But with the war ongoing, critics say the decision gives Israel legitimacy and ignores the moral context. One resident, Erwin Van de Velde, said that if the Russian flag could be removed because of the war in Ukraine, the same should apply to Israel. Another resident, Sven Dierickx, called City Hall a public symbol and said, “Protocol without a moral compass is just administrative cowardice.”
The anger has moved beyond online debate. The group Antwerp Coalition for Palestine has held weekly demonstrations in the central square, some ending in clashes and arrests. The City Hall facade has been covered with stickers and chalk slogans, and vandals later sprayed a large graffiti message over the Kennedy Tunnel on the highway toward Ghent reading, “Remove this flag,” alongside a crossed-out Israeli flag.
Van Doesburg, who leads the city from the conservative N-VA, insists the display is neutral and based on objective criteria, not support for Israeli policy. She said, “If we start judging only by gut feeling or emotion, where does it end?”, adding that Antwerp has more than 173 nationalities and such decisions cannot be made ad hoc. She also revealed she receives daily hate messages and murder threats, including threats against her son and calls to burn her house. She blamed some left-wing politicians for helping fuel the hostility by repeatedly labeling her a “genocide supporter.”
The dispute has split the city coalition. Vooruit, the senior socialist partner, has broken ranks and backed the protesters’ demand that the flag come down. Its council member Kathleen Van Brempt said the issue is the message the city sends, not the flag itself, and proposed replacing national flags with a neutral peace flag or only EU flags. PVDA and Groen are preparing two motions for the next city council meeting, one to remove the Israeli flag immediately and another to rewrite the flag protocol. Van Doesburg is expected to defeat both measures with help from Vlaams Belang council members, giving her a working majority.
