Douwe Bob has received death threats after he refused to perform at the Jewish children’s football event Jom Ha on the grounds of AFC in Amsterdam on Sunday. The 32-year-old singer said this on Sunday evening at the table at Renze.
“Upon arrival, I was confronted with Zionist posters and pamphlets,” said Douwe Bob. “It is scandalous that a children’s party is being hijacked by political organizations, which is why I decided to leave the event.”
According to the singer, it had been clearly agreed in advance that “no religious or political statements” would be made at the event. “I then leave because they are not keeping to the agreement. And now I am here, to convince everyone that I am not an anti-Semite,” he said.
Douwe Bob also criticised an X message from VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz, in which she says about the incident: “Children are refused a performance because of who they are: Jewish. It won’t even make the news. That’s how normal Jew-hatred has become. Pure hatred, in plain sight.” About this, the singer said: “I am now being threatened with death and that is because of things like that.”
‘I cordially invite the kids to my home’
According to Douwe Bob, Yesilgöz did not watch a video of the incident properly. He finds it painful to be called an anti-Semite, partly because he performed at the opening of the National Holocaust Museum in 2024.
He would like to accommodate the children who missed Douwe Bob’s performance. “I hereby cordially invite the kids to come to my home and I will sing for everyone. That is not the point. It is purely about the fact that you make an appointment,” he said. “I followed my heart and I stand by it.”