“A shame that we let this be done in the name of freedom of expression”

A float from the company “Lossendeirdeveirdeirdeir” presenting Jews with long toes, in reference to an expression according to which this particularity would be a sign of susceptibility, joined the procession of the carnival of Aalst on Sunday.

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This group chose “Aalst court” as their theme, with judges who were called upon to make decisions on matters of humor.

Observers who imagined that the Aalst carnivoreers were going to keep a low profile after last year’s controversy are at their expense. On the contrary, the “Lossendeirdeveirdeirdeir” chose to denounce the “susceptibility” of those who had criticized the controversial tank.

“We are the judges of humor. Jews, priests, Muslims … In Aalst, we make fun of everything and everyone. It’s part of the Aalst Code of Humor, ”said the carnivalists.

In addition to the floats, the participants massed along the road also decided to laugh at the controversy. Many of them display stereotypes of the Jewish religion such as hooked noses and curly locks.

The procession started at 2 p.m., an hour later than expected, due to the risk of storm. Security measures were put in place by the firefighters, which disrupted the gathering. The height of the latter has been limited to four meters, and revelers may not stand on those over two meters high.

The controversial dolls are out

The company “De Zwiejtollekes” released on Sunday the dolls representing Jews who sparked controversy last year at the Aalst carnival. These are this time associated with caricatures targeting other religions within a kind of shooting range.

“Laughing at everything and everyone is unique to carnival. Never to hurt but for fun ”, justify the Zwiejtollekes. “We are showing that we can take it out on everyone and that we do not give up. The targets on our costumes are a way of putting ourselves in the viewfinder. “

Unesco’s decision to remove the event from its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity does not seem to have cooled the fervor of Aalst, on the contrary. Carnival-goers parade in Nazi uniforms with the words “Unestapo” on their backs and many floats refer to the Jews, who are among other things caricatured as insects.

The royal family with Delphine Boël, Greta Thunberg, Muslims, Catholics, the LGBT community, the Chinese coronavirus and the return of Kim Clijsters to competition also inspired the carnivalists.

“A shame and a mess”, according to the president of the Belgian League against Antisemitism

The president of the Belgian League against Antisemitism (LBCA), present Sunday at the Aalst carnival, says he is very disappointed by this 2020 edition. “Shame and mess, these are the first words that come to mind”, says Joël Rubinfeld to the Belga agency.

The company “De Zwiejtollekes” brought out on Sunday the dolls representing Jews who had sparked controversy last year at the Aalst carnival but, this time in another context and associated with caricatures targeting other religions within ‘a kind of shooting range.

Joël Rubinfeld said he was unpleasantly surprised to see them again, but also to see other tanks parade taking anti-Semitic cartoons.

“I saw hooked noses, and the Wailing Wall depicted as constructed with gold bars, all accompanied by a parody of the Beatles song” Hey Jude “. It is a real anti-Semitic debauchery, it is what I feared, even if I had a little hope for this edition, “adds the president of the LBCA.

“It is a shame that we let this happen in our country in the name of freedom of expression. There are limits. And then, it is also a real mess because there are children, it is a family and popular celebration on which many people work for a year and these problematic tanks constitute only 5% of the whole procession , but that is what we remember, “emphasizes Joël Rubinfeld again.

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