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On Friday, the trade unions CSC and FGTB are organizing a national demonstration in Brussels as a first warning to the Flemish government Arizona, ahead of a scheduled public sector strike on Monday and amid strong protests in French-speaking education. #Manifestation #Syndicats #Bruxelles (translated)

The FGTB and CSC are organizing a national demonstration in Brussels on Friday, October 9, while a strike on October 12 will disrupt rail transport, with a significant impact on public transport, airports, and recycling centers. #Manifestation #Grève #TransportsPublics (translated)

Good question from Fatma Taspinar. "What are you actually doing?" It wasn't even meant to be critical, but the answer perfectly exposes the subsidy disease. "Organizing things for people" is not a core task of the government. #subsidie #overheid #organiseren (translated)

Typerend. This is the director of Avansa VZW. His organization, linked to the Catholic union, receives 13.6 million euros in subsidies each year. What do they do with it? Organize forest walks. With a left-activist approach. And as he aptly explains here: "doing things for people". Like "writing a book about the elderly" and then "touring schools with it and making a theater presentation". The man risks losing a maximum of 5% of subsidies with this government agreement. That means: instead of 13.6 million euros, he will now receive "only" 13 million euros per year (it is likely to be around 13.4 million in reality). According to the public broadcaster, this is "cold, bleak" almost inhumane. Those not invited to discuss this: working dual-income earners who struggle to save a little money. They will continue to pay the 13.4 million euros to Avansa. In this country, you are already seen as cold and bleak when you question that. Abolish the entire subsidy pot of 80 million euros. If there are a few organizations that could use some support, that can perfectly be done through a regular subsidy. #subsidies #maatschappij #vakbond (translated)

Typerend. This is the director of Avansa VZW. His organization, connected to the Catholic trade union, receives 13.6 million euros in subsidies annually. What do they do with it? Organize forest walks. With a leftist-activist angle. And as he aptly explains here: "doing things for people". Like "writing a book about the elderly" and then "going around schools with it and turning it into a theater performance". The man risks losing a maximum of 5% of subsidies with this government agreement. So that's: instead of 13.6 million euros, he will now receive "only" 13.4 million euros per year. According to the public broadcaster, this is "cold, chilly" almost inhumane. Not invited to discuss this: working dual-income earners who struggle to save a bit of money. They continue to pay the 13.4 million euros to Avansa. In this country, you are already cold and chilly when you question that. Abolish that entire subsidy pot of 80 million euros. If there are a few organizations that you would like to support, that can easily be done through a regular subsidy. #subsidies #politiek #samenleving (translated)

Letschert in a tight spot! The Jewish and Israeli students in Maastricht are stating it clearly. They are no longer carried away by the dialogue merry-go-round of the D66 Minister of Education, after spending years in her merry-go-round when she led the university. Result: an antisemitic climate and the import of hate rallies. Letschert's reward: the plush of The Hague. Read the letter below. Support these brave students who let their voice, and only their voice, be heard. Who do not bow to the established order and do not allow themselves to be exploited and misled by them. Bravo! To the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, IJAR Maastricht has learned that Minister of Education Rianne Letschert intends to organize a meeting about Jewish students, following the recent developments at Maastricht University. As the representative organization of Jewish and Israeli students at Maastricht University, we have received no formal invitation from the minister or her ministry. Nor have we been informed about the purpose, the mandate, the intended participants, or the measures that may be considered. If the subject concerns the position and experiences of Jewish and Israeli students at Maastricht University, consultations should begin with the organization that represents these students and within the university environment where the relevant events take place. During Ms. Letschert's previous term at Maastricht University, Jewish and Israeli students and their representatives spoke with her and other members of the university administration on numerous occasions. They repeatedly expressed concerns about safety, intimidation, the campus climate, institutional decisions, and the implications of those decisions for Jewish and Israeli students. From those discussions, it appeared that consultations were taking place, but in our experience, they did not lead to measures that corresponded to the issues raised. Clear lines of accountability were also not established for what followed. This history means that the mere fact that there is again a meeting cannot be considered an achievement in itself. Other Jewish organizations and individuals elsewhere in the Netherlands may have legitimate perspectives on broader issues concerning Jewish life, antisemitism, or national policy. However, they do not represent the Jewish and Israeli students at Maastricht University and cannot replace the representative organization of the students whose campus, lecture halls, and daily living environment are directly at stake. A meeting held elsewhere, with discussion partners who do not represent these students, can be viewed as discussions with Jewish organizations, but cannot reasonably be presented as a consultation with the representative organization of Jewish and Israeli students studying at Maastricht University. For that reason, we believe that if the minister wishes to address what is happening at Maastricht University, she should come to Maastricht and engage directly in conversation with the representative organization of Jewish and Israeli students here. The location is important, as responsibility must be aligned with where the issue occurs and not be disconnected from it: the issues being discussed involve this university, the decisions being made here, and the students who experience the consequences of those decisions. Thus, consultations regarding Maastricht should take place in Maastricht and begin with those who are institutionally responsible for representing the involved students. Before such a meeting takes place, we also demand clarity about what the minister aims to achieve with it. We expect to know what questions are being investigated, what decisions or measures remain open, what responsibility the ministry will take on itself, what responsibility it expects from Maastricht University, what concrete follow-up steps are foreseen, and how the outcomes of the meeting will be recorded and communicated. Without that information, participation threatens to serve mainly as proof that consultations have taken place, rather than as a means by which those consultations can actually have an impact. Our concern, therefore, is not about whether there will be a meeting, but about the relationship between consultation and responsibility. We have previously participated in discussions, we have laid out the problems before, and our presence has previously shown that a dialogue existed. What too often has remained unclear, however, is who was responsible for acting on what was raised during those discussions and what actually changed as a result of those discussions. A representative consultation should not end once the participants leave the room, but should record who is responsible for the issues raised, what actions follow from that, and how those actions will be assessed. We remain willing to engage seriously with the minister in Maastricht. However, that consultation must take place with the representative organization of the Jewish and Israeli students whose situation is at stake, with a clear purpose, with well-defined responsibilities, and with an explicit connection between listening and acting. Anything less than that threatens only to reproduce the form of consultation, while the substance — and the responsibility for it — remains unresolved. Signed, The Board of IJAR Maastricht *link to the original letter in the tweet below #antisemitisme #onderwijs #studentenrechten (translated)

In een toespraak voor de VN zette Trump het ICC vorige week neer als een ‘losgeslagen anti-Amerikaans tribunaal’ dat ‘showprocessen’ zou willen organiseren tegen Amerikanen, hoewel er op dit moment geen onderzoeken lopen naar mogelijke Amerikaanse oorlogsmisdaden. #InternationaalStrafhof #sancties #diplomatie

En ook mevrouw Crevits dient de werkzaamheden noodgedwongen te staken. En dat zijn dan de mensen die werkgevers eens gaan vertellen -en opleggen- hoe zij hun werkvloer moeten organiseren om burn-outs en andere werkuitval te voorkomen. Dag na dag ongeloofwaardiger. #werkvloer #burnout #werkgevers

Een meerderheid in de Kamer steunde de motie van Ingrid Coenradie om de politie geen iftars meer te laten organiseren. Nu kiest de minister voor een verbod op alle religieuze bijeenkomsten, waaronder kerst. Dat gaat te ver: "De minister gaat aan de wandel met mijn motie". 👇 https://t.co/jqUX1vJOJB #politiek #religie #vrijheid

🇮🇱Het blijft bijna niet te bevatten wat er sinds donderdag gebeurt. De manifestatie Op de Bres voor Israël op de Dam, georganiseerd door de werkgroep van mijn goede vriend Jacques Brunt, gaat inmiddels de wereld over. Beelden worden internationaal gedeeld, vertaald en opnieuw verspreid. En dan besef ik hoe bijzonder het is dat ik daar mocht staan en spreken. Dat ik mijn bijdrage mocht leveren voor mijn volk, mijn gezin, mijn familie en mijn gemeenschap. En vooral: dat woorden weer iets in beweging zetten. Sindsdien krijg ik berichten van mensen die zeggen: wij willen ook opstaan. Wij willen ook iets doen. Inmiddels zijn er op ruim twintig plaatsen solidariteitswandelingen georganiseerd of in voorbereiding. En het groeit door. Wie mee wil lopen of zelf iets wil organiseren: ik deel de website bij deze post. https://t.co/01mLIAqikm En dan de ironie van die avond. Die enorme Palestijnse vlag die enkele seconden uit een raam werd gehangen en vrijwel onmiddellijk weer werd weggehaald. Bedoeld als provocatie, bedoeld om onze manifestatie te verstoren. Maar juist dat beeld ging mede de wereld over. Wat bedoeld was om ons te overschaduwen, maakte ons zichtbaarder. Wat bedoeld was om te verstoren, zorgde mede voor nóg meer bereik. En wat bedoeld was om mensen het zwijgen op te leggen, laat juist méér mensen opstaan. Ik vermoed dat degenen achter die actie dát effect niet hadden voorzien. Voor mij raakt dit inmiddels aan iets wat veel groter is dan één avond op de Dam. Aan de eeuwige strijd tussen licht en duisternis, liefde en haat, opbouwen en vernietigen. וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאוֹר כִּי־טוֹב Vayar Elohim et-ha’or ki tov. En God zag dat het licht goed was. En daarom: וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים — Uvacharta bachayim. Kies het leven. Kies het licht. Want soms bereikt duisternis precies het tegenovergestelde van wat zij beoogt: ze maakt zichtbaar hoeveel licht er tegenover staat. En dat licht verspreidt zich. Steeds verder. עם ישראל חי 🇮🇱❤ #Israël #solidariteit #licht