Jewish groups have welcomed the decision to formally remove a Belgian street carnival depicting big-nosed Charedi Jews from a United Nations list of “intangible cultural heritage”.
The annual event in Aalst, a Flemish city northwest of Brussels, was widely criticised for the imagery, which featured the Strictly Orthodox caricatures sitting atop piles of money.
One of the figures had a white rat sitting on its shoulder.
The unprecedented decision had been widely anticipated and Christoph D’Haese, the city’s mayor, attempted to sidestep it by renouncing the listing the previous weekend.
According to the Brussels-based European Jewish Association, officials were “jumping before they were pushed”, while the Simon Wiesenthal Centre warned it was no guarantee for a hate-free Aalst Carnival.
Delegates for Unesco, the UN’s cultural agency, agreed at their annual meeting in Bogotá last week that “the recurrence of racist and antisemitic representations is incompatible with the fundamental principles” of its treaty to safeguard cultural heritage.
Unesco’s rules say that only cultural heritage that complies with international human rights law and “the requirements of mutal respect” can be included.
A statement by the agency added: “Unesco stands by its founding principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect among peoples and condemns all forms of discrimination, including racism, antisemitism, islamophobia and xenophobia.”
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the EJA president, welcomed the decision.
“Despite the widespread criticism, despite the clear grotesque antisemitic imagery, despite the opportunity to at least acknowledge the wrong and hurt caused, the mayor of Aalst has consistently remained defiant and mocking,” he said.
Shimon Samuels, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, said delistment “was not a guarantee for a hate-free Aalst Carnival” that attracted thousands of spectators thanks to its Unesco status.
He added: “Our Centre will be monitoring and, if necessary, will take measures to inform our over 400,000 members and other friends worldwide of the dangers in visiting a hatefest.”
