Femke Halsema used the term but now says it has become too politically loaded.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema on Sunday appeared to retract her use of the word “pogrom” in connection with the mass assaults by Arabs on Israelis in her city on Nov. 7.
Halsema, a former leader of the left-wing D66 party, said during a panel discussion on the NOS broadcaster that the term in the context of the attacks had become too politically loaded and a propaganda tool.
Her remarks are part of a broader narrative shift in the Netherlands about the attacks, which initially prompted harsh-worded condemnations from across the political spectrum. In recent days, politicians and opinion shapers on the left have downplayed, excused or denied the attacks on Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans returning from their team’s match against the local Ajax club.