Editing Aalst, Belgium (section)

===Controversy===
In December 2019, anticipating [[UNESCO]]'s response to the decision of the carnival organizers to double down on the widely reported use of [[anti-Semitic]] stereotypes,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/74650/carnival-of-aalst-to-make-fun-of-jews-and-unesco-after-accusations-of-anti-semitism/ |title=Aalst Carnival makes fun of Jews again, despite anti-Semitism accusations over previous edition |date=21 October 2019 |website=[[The Brussels Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/belgian-parade-mired-in-anti-semitism-prints-jewish-caricatures-for-participants/ |newspaper=[[Times of Israel]] |title=Belgian parade mired in anti-Semitism prints Jewish caricatures for participants |author=Cnaan Liphshiz |date=23 October 2019}}</ref> the mayor of Aalst pre-emptively applied to have his city's carnival removed from the [[Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/art-culture/81263/aalst-carnival-drops-out-of-unesco-world-heritage-anti-semitic-mayor-christoph-dhaese/ |title=Aalst removes Carnival from UNESCO World Heritage list |date=2 December 2019 |website=[[The Brussels Times]]}}</ref> This is the only time such a request has been made.

In [[2020 in politics and government|2020]] the Aalst parade included more anti-Semitic costumes.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51612541 |title=Belgian city of Aalst says anti-Semitic parade 'just fun' |work=BBC News |date=24 February 2020 }}</ref> These included floats depicting [[Orthodox Jews]] with hooked noses standing on sacks of gold coins. Israel's ambassador to Belgium stated “What we are asking for is the prohibition of all these antisemitic cartoons, which are beyond good taste, which have nothing to do with a sense of humor and which do not honor an exemplary democracy such as Belgium.”<ref>Belgian carnival to go ahead despite row over 'hateful' antisemitism, ''[[The Guardian]]'', Daniel Boffey in Brussels, Fri 21 Feb 2020 12.49 GMT </ref> In response, Belgium’s prime minister, [[Sophie Wilmès]], described the parade as an “internal affair.”<ref>Belgian carnival to go ahead despite row over 'hateful' antisemitism, ''[[The Guardian]]'', Daniel Boffey in Brussels, Fri 21 Feb 2020 12.49 GMT </ref> UNIA, the Interfederal [[Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism]], stated in a report that no criminal offences were committed, for the parade had no anti-semitic motive, nor the intent to incite hatred or violence against Jews.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unia.be/en/publications-statistics/publications/carnival-and-the-limits-of-freedom-of-expression |title=Carnival and the limits of freedom of expression}}</ref>