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NL Why 2025 was a turning point for violence surrounding the olive harvest in the West Bank
Image: Flickr Every year, when the olives ripen and Palestinian families prepare for the harvest, the West Bank should experience a period of economic growth, social cohesion and cautious optimism. The olive harvest is traditionally more than just an agricultural event: it symbolises continuity and the bond between community and land. Instead […]
Trade over human lives: The Dutch role in the war in Sudan
Image: Sourcepixel The humanitarian crisis in Sudan has received extra attention in the news and on social media in recent weeks, but the conflict has now been going on for more than two years. While serious crimes are being committed, international attention is minimal. What role do the Netherlands and the EU play in the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and [...]
New EU rules on political ads: protecting democracy or fighting symptoms?
Source: Wikimedia Commons This article was posted as part of our work in the Dutch Democracy Coalition. This project was created with support from Democracy & Media Foundation. This article is based on conversations with Pieter van Boheemen (Post-X Society) and Alice Stollmeyer (Defend Democracy) about the impact of new EU regulations on political advertisements and resilience [...].
Silence on sexual violence by Israel makes Netherlands complicit
This opinion piece originally appeared on Joop-BNNVARA It is almost unbearable to read: Palestinian women being raped in front of their families, forcibly stripped publicly and sexually humiliated by heavily armed soldiers. These are all facts gathered in the UN report More than a human can bear, published on 13 March 2025 by [...]
Free and Quiet
When 4 and 5 May came into view, we used to ask each other: what are you going to do on Liberation Day? Now we asked each other what we were going to do with Remembrance Day. Report after report shows that worldwide, press freedom is in decline, the right to demonstrate is under pressure and civil society organisations are being squeezed, [...]
Three years after 'February 24' - the crucial role of women in Ukraine
Three years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, uncertainty remains high. Although there are talks of a possible ceasefire at the urging of Donald Trump, the war continues and the consequences remain dire. Millions of Ukrainians, both inside and outside the country, have gone through hard times. Their voices must play a central role [...]
Political Café: All Eyes on Sudan on June 26
All Eyes On Sudan A humanitarian disaster of unprecedented proportions is currently unfolding in Sudan. Two warlords are waging a bloody battle in which sexual violence, mutilation and ethnic cleansing are the order of the day. Some 25 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, 9 million of whom have now fled the [...]
Elmar Smid on the barricades for the worker: "The motivation is very deep"
When you say Elmar Smid, you say 'work and income, that's really my big passion.' Because I think that's a great equaliser.' He is number 9 on the GroenLinks-PvdA list and plans to campaign fully for European workers' rights in the European Parliament. The FMS spoke [...]
EP candidate Ralph du Long on international cooperation & hope for Ukraine
Ralph du Long, number 13 on the GroenLinks-PvdA list for the 2024 European elections, is a veteran within the party. Besides his years of experience in politics in the north of the Netherlands, he has been active as a human rights trainer for 25 years and is a site manager in a crisis shelter for asylum seekers. Du Long makes [...]
In conversation with Tineke Strik on European 'cash for migrant control' deals
Photo: Tineke Strik at a European Parliament debate - X Migration remains a hot topic in political debate - both during the recent parliamentary elections and now, ahead of the European Parliament elections on 6 June. The call for control over immigration and borders is central to this. The European Union then [...]