The Christians For Israel (C4I) organization in the Netherlands claimed on Monday their center was subjected to vandalism, a hostile environment, and accusations of child murder and genocide by activists from three pro-Palestinian organizations.
Naming the organizations as Extinction Rebellion, Justice Now, and Christian Collective, the latter claiming to support Palestinians, C4I claimed activists spraypainted “supporting genocide,” “child murderers,” and “complicit in the events in Gaza” on the building’s exterior.
The vandalism allegedly occured during a protest scheduled at the same time that most C4I staff members arrived at work. The group claimed that many of its employees were caught off guard by the demonstration.
“The vandalism created a distressing and hostile environment for staff and disrupted the organization’s daily activities,” C4I claimed.
Police arrived at the scene 20 minutes after they were called but allegedly failed to disperse and secure the center for nearly three hours.
The organization stressed that the demonstration and vandalisms were just the latest incident in hostilities against pro-Israel Christians in the area.
C4I said the building was targeted last summer by, what appears to be, activists from the same groups.
Ahead of demonstration
The latest incident occurred days before C4I planned for a major pro-Israel demonstration in Amerstadam in a show of support for the city’s Jewry.
Amsterdam was recently the site of a violent pogrom where Israeli soccer fans were assaulted in a “Jew hunt” following Maccabi Tel Aviv’s match against Ajax.
C4I spokespersons expressed dismay at the demonstrators' actions, emphasizing their commitment to supporting both Jewish and Palestinian communities.
“For many years, we have contributed hundreds of thousands of Euros to organizations that aid Palestinians and foster cooperation between Arab and Jewish communities in Israel. Accusing us of complicity in genocide ignores these facts,” a representative stated.
Attempts to engage in dialogue with the protesters have thus far been unfruitful, the organization’s representatives claimed.
“We’ve said to them, ‘If you want to have a conversation, this is not the way to do it.’ Instead of engaging with facts and constructive dialogue, they resort to yelling, vandalizing, and spreading misinformation,” the representative added.
“We are shocked that this is happening in our country. We are standing up for Israel, and it makes us even stronger. We are shocked, especially because it has been done by other Christians. And we can't understand that Christians won't see that it's the biblical truth that God is bringing back his people to the country. But we will stand up and make that known to all Christians in the Netherlands and in the whole world,” said Frank van Oordt, Executive Director of C4I Netherlands.