An interesting question to put to Marieke van Houte. As an anthropologist, she studies how people give meaning to living together in times of conflict and inequality. Her work began with migration: “Why do people leave, why do they stay, and how does that affect their identity?” Gradually, she noticed that her question was becoming broader: “How can we connect with loaded topics without getting stuck in polarisation?” According to van Houte, part of the answer is that we must acknowledge that we can exist thanks to each other, precisely because of our different positions.
2025: How drawing a red line was more than just protesting
On 5 October, Amsterdam turned red. A quarter of a million people drew a red line through the city; a powerful symbol against Israel’s genocidal violence in Palestine. What happens when we take to the streets en masse? Is it a political act, an outlet for anger or something more fundamental?
Let’s try to be as brave as we can be, to do what we can, and not to let ourselves be divided, but to hold on to each other. And continue to trust that most people try to do the right thing.
More than a statement
According to van Houte, the red line protest was not just a protest against genocidal violence, but also a mirror for ourselves. “We like to say that the system in which we live is built on universal human rights and democracy. At the same time, the same system engages in exploitation, oppression, racism and polarisation.
System change
Protesting out of solidarity with Palestine is therefore not only a statement against genocide, but also against that system. It is an attempt to say: this isn’t right. What did the red line protest do for the Netherlands? Van Houte indicates that it gave 250,000 people the feeling that they weren’t alone; a healing and important aspect of protesting. “But, of course, we don’t take to the streets just for our own well-being. Protesting is primarily a way to contribute to real systemic change.”
Acknowledge polarisation, even in yourself
The red line was also about how we deal with power, guilt and responsibility. About how we detach ourselves from a system that says: this violence is normal. And about how we, regardless of fear, can do something together. And this ability to do something perhaps starts with acknowledging that polarisation exists within ourselves as well, even if we fight against it. “We waste our energy condemning each other, for instance, when we condemn the actions of activists, or of people who support armed Palestinian resistance, or who believe that the other person took action too late,” says van Houte. Instead, we should start by asking each other: “How is this for you? How did you come to your decisions?”
Look for the differences (and celebrate them)
Van Houte says it is crucial that we can deal with our differences without rejecting each other. We can find inspiration in sources that offer alternatives to us-them thinking and are grounded in mutual connectedness. Such as Audre Lorde, the Caribbean-American feminist, poet and university lecturer, who said: ‘It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.’
We exist thanks to the other
Van Houte explains: “That quarter of a million people in Amsterdam were there thanks to the activists who had already taken to the streets two years earlier. And they, in turn, are building on decades of Palestinian resistance. And thanks to the visible shift in public opinion, institutions such as Avro-Tros and even our own Executive Board now dare to take a stand by ending collaborations with Israel. Anyone who opposes oppression and genocide can therefore strengthen each other by recognizing that we can exist thanks to each other, precisely because of our different positions.
Courage as a counterforce
“The destruction in Gaza is almost total. And trust in institutions such as the university has also been damaged. If we hadn’t spent so much time condemning each other, but had dared to listen to each other and had dared to act sooner, our joint efforts might have prevented some of the suffering,” says van Houte. She calls for courageous convivality. “We are all afraid. Let’s try to be as brave as we can be, to do what we can, and not to let ourselves be divided, but to hold on to each other. And continue to trust that most people try to do the right thing.”
End-of-year series
This story is part of the End-of-year series. Especially for this series, the editors of Radboud Recharge, together with scientists, look back on seven important moments from 2025. Curious about the other articles? View the entire series here.
Contact information
- Organizational unit
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Radboud Social Cultural Research, Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies
- About person
- Dr M. van Houte (Marieke) MSc
- Theme
- Diversity, Society