Harry van Bommel
| Harry van Bommel | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands | |
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In office 19 May 1998 – 23 March 2017 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Henricus van Bommel 24 June 1962 Helmond, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Political party | Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij - SP) |
| Residence | Diemen, Netherlands |
| Alma mater | University of Amsterdam (MA - Political science) |
| Occupation | Politician, educator |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | (English) Socialist Party website |
Henricus (Harry) van Bommel (born 24 June 1962 in Helmond) is a Dutch politician, anti-globalisation activist and former educator. As a member of the Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij) he was an MP from 19 May 1998 to 23 March 2017. He focused on matters of foreign policy and the European Union.
Born in the province of North Brabant, he grew up in Heino, which is a village in the province of Overijssel. Van Bommel was a teacher of Dutch and English before entering politics, having attended the University of Amsterdam to study political science.
He joined the Socialist Party in 1986, eventually joining its executive committee overseeing students, where he remained until 1994. In that year, he was elected to the Amsterdam City Council, having been elected to the Amsterdam East district council in 1990.
In May 1998, Van Bommel became a member of the Dutch House of Representatives for the Socialist Party. Van Bommel's work as a Socialist Party member has, since 1994, included focus on educational policy and on international affairs. In the former capacity, he contributed to the "Alles Kids?" report on diminishing opportunities for youth.
His term in the House ended on 23 March 2017.
Following the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip late 2008-early 2009, the SP MPs Van Bommel and Sadet Karabulut on January 3, 2009 in Amsterdam took part in a demonstration against the actions of Israel, chanting the slogan ", Intifada, Palestine free". This led to criticism of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the Party for Freedom (PVV) and the Centre Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI), which suggested that this was a call to violence. Also, SP leader Agnes Kant said: "I would not have done [this], because it leads to misunderstandings." Van Bommel denied that he wanted to incite violence; according to him intifada can be understood as "civil disobedience". The incident was reason for the Rabbi Raphael Evers of the "Dutch Israelite Religious Community" (Nederlands Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap - NIK) to demand that van Bommel not be present at the Auschwitz Memorial in Amsterdam on January 25. The Dutch Auschwitz Committee - the organizer of the meeting - said, however, that Van Bommel was welcome and called the case "a bloated affair." But eventually, Van Bommel let to known that he would not be present because he didn't want "that commotion about his presence at the expense of the actual memorial".
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Wikipedia