The Belgian carnival of Aalst persists and signs: accused of anti-Semitism, which earned him to be removed from the intangible heritage of Unesco, this festive parade decided to " laugh at everything " and showed new caricatures on Sunday Orthodox Jews.
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" Let Aalst be Aalst ", had warned in the morning the mayor of the city, the elected Flemish nationalist (N-VA) Christoph D'Haese, pointing the finger at the " disproportionate " critics coming in particular from official Israeli voices. " This is not an anti-Semitic parade, Aalst is not an anti-Semitic city ", insisted the bourgmestre.
A huge controversy followed the 2019 edition of this 600-year-old carnival, when a chariot caricaturing orthodox Jews with hooked noses, seated on bags of gold, took part in the procession. It resulted in the removal of the carnival from the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage, a new measure.
The UN organization lambasted at a decisive meeting in December the " recurrent repetitions of racist and anti-Semitic representations " in the demonstration. In his eyes, they are incompatible " with the requirement of mutual respect between communities, groups, individuals ... "
On the spot in Aalst, however, nobody considers having disrespected the Jews, according to testimonies collected Sunday by AFP. The controversial tank of 2019 would be a simple misunderstanding. " They never intended to mock the Jews and hurt them, the media attention is completely exaggerated, " said a nurse from Aalst hospital, who prefers to withhold his name.
With the big bags of cash, the group which had chartered this tank wanted to make an allusion to its own search for funds to take a sabbatical year, ensures this thirty-something in town dress. The image may have been just " awkward, " he concedes.
" Go to Antwerp, to the diamond dealers, you will see they are like that ", launches by his side a man disguised as a woman with a big smile, while another, Guy Verhuslt, doctor in Aalst, regrets that " the Jews miss of humor ”.
"Censorship of political correctness"
In the parade this time, no more traces of gold bags, but the two papillotes falling from a large black fur hat, an accessory characteristic of Orthodox Jews, are visible everywhere. Some have chosen to add to this disguise a faux leather mask resembling a muzzle to symbolize the " censorship " imposed by the " politically correct ". Many banners refer to Unesco, mocked as " Big brother " who monitors and punishes.
For the mayor, it is necessary to take into account “the global context” of the event, which he compared to a “ritual of inversion”. For three days " the poor become rich, the rich become poor, men of women and women of men, " said the elected official.
" Here we laugh at everything, the royal family, Brexit, local and national politics, and all religions, Islam, Judaism, Catholicism ", assured Mr. D'Haese. In fact, humor with broad strokes is everywhere: the “ fake news ” of Jan Jambon (N-VA president of Flanders) on the money of immigrants, or the difficult return to competition of tennis player Kim Clijsters , caricatured in pregnant women with generous shapes.
Each year dozens of floats parade on the first day of carnival, the Sunday before Fat Tuesday, in front of tens of thousands of visitors. For Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès, it will be a question of seeing this year " if the facts which took place [there] break the law ". " The use of stereotypes, referents stigmatizing communities, human groups on the basis of their origins leads to divisions and jeopardizes living together, " warned this French-speaking liberal with reference to the caricatures of Jews.
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Some " confuse freedom of expression with guilty stupidity ", for his part castigated Johan Benizri, who chairs the Coordination Committee of Jewish organizations in Belgium.
