'Violent and turbulent': Israeli soccer fans attacked in Amsterdam
Updated November 8, 2024 — 9.09pm
Amsterdam: Five people were hospitalised and 62 arrested after authorities said antisemitic rioters attacked Israeli supporters following a soccer match in Amsterdam on Thursday night.
Dutch authorities described the attacks, which followed a Europa League match between Ajax – traditionally identified as a Jewish club – and Maccabi Tel Aviv, as “very turbulent with several incidents of violence aimed at Maccabi supporters”.
Police escort Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to the metro station before the Ajax game.Credit: AP
It was not immediately clear when and where violence erupted, but the leaders of both the Netherlands and Israel labelled it antisemitic. Israel also announced it was sending planes to Europe to fly fans home.
A witness captured a video verified by Reuters showing a group of men running near Amsterdam central station, chasing and assaulting other men, as police sirens sounded.
“In several places in the city, supporters were attacked. The police had to intervene several times, protect Israeli supporters and escort them to hotels. Despite the massive police presence in the city, Israeli supporters have been injured,” the Amsterdam statement said.
Videos posted on social media showed crowds running through the streets during the attacks.Credit: Telegraph, London
“This outburst of violence toward Israeli supporters is unacceptable and cannot be defended in any way. There is no excuse for the antisemitic behaviour exhibited last night by rioters who actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them,” it added.
Authorities said extra police would patrol the city in coming days and security would be beefed up at Jewish institutions in the city, which has a large Jewish community and was home to Jewish World War II diarist Anne Frank and her family as they hid from Nazi occupiers.
The violence erupted despite a ban on a pro-Palestine demonstration near the soccer stadium that had been imposed by Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, who had feared clashes would break out between protesters and supporters of the Israeli club.
There were also incidents involving fans ahead of the match. Dutch broadcaster NOS reported that a Palestinian flag was ripped off a building in the centre of the city and riot police blocked Palestinian supporters who were trying to march toward the Johan Cruyff Arena stadium, where the match was being played.
Palestinian supporters march through Amsterdam on Thursday night.Credit: AP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded the Dutch government take “vigorous and swift action” against those involved.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on X that he followed reports of the violence “with horror”.
“Completely unacceptable antisemitic attacks on Israelis. I am in close contact with everyone involved,” he added, saying he had spoken to Netanyahu and “emphasised that the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted. It is now quiet in the capital.”
Geert Wilders, the hard-right nationalist lawmaker whose Party for Freedom won elections in the Netherlands last year and who is a staunch ally of Israel, reacted to a video apparently showing a Maccabi fan being surrounded by several men.
“Looks like a Jew hunt in the streets of Amsterdam,” Wilders said. “Arrest and deport the multicultural scum that attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in our streets. Ashamed that this can happen in the Netherlands. Totally unacceptable.”
Increased security for Paris matchDespite the violence, France said it would not change its plan to host a Nations League game against Israel next week.
“France is not backing down because that would amount to giving up in the face of threats of violence and antisemitism,” Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said.
Tensions over Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza are running high in France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, where authorities this year reported a surge in antisemitic incidents.
Paris police are planning to deploy more than 2000 officers around the Stade de France to secure the game on Thursday, BFM TV reported. Authorities are also expected to cordon off an unusually large security perimeter.
Retailleau was meeting with the heads of the French soccer federation and top club PSG on Friday morning following the unfurling of a giant “Free Palestine” banner at the club’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
AP, Reuters
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