We must not turn a blind eye to anti-Semitism after attacks on Israeli football fans, says Dutch king

The Dutch king said that Jews must feel safe in the Netherlands, after violent attacks on Israeli football fans in central Amsterdam.

Willem-Alexander said “history has taught us how intimidation gets worse and worse,” adding that the country cannot ignore “anti-Semitic behavior.”

Young men on scooters ripped through the Dutch capital in “hit and run” attacks on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters who were visiting Amsterdam to watch a match, authorities said. in the Europa League.

Police said five people were treated at the hospital and others suffered minor injuries. At least 62 people were arrested.

“My heart goes out to the victims and their families here and in Israel,” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said at a news conference Friday.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof flew back early from a summit of EU leaders in Budapest, where he said he had watched developments with horror.

“The perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted,” he promised.

Thursday night’s violence was condemned by leaders across Europe, the US and Israel. For many, something particularly shocking happened on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi massacre against Jews in Germany in 1938.

Three-quarters of the Jews of the Netherlands were murdered in the Holocaust during World War II.

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The king alluded to that history, saying: “Jews must feel safe in the Netherlands, everywhere and at all times. We wrap our arms around them and will not let them go.”

US President Joe Biden said the attacks “recall dark moments in history when Jews were persecuted”.

There was trouble and several arrests on the eve of Thursday’s match, involving Maccabi fans as well as pro-Palestinian protesters.

Police Chief Peter Holla confirmed there had been incidents “on both sides”. Supporters of Israel removed a Palestinian flag from the wall, burned it and attacked a taxi, he said, although there was no further trouble until the next night.

There were also reports of supporters setting off fireworks. An unverified video shows fans going down an escalator chanting anti-Arab slogans.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the “anti-Arab chants” and the “attack on the Palestinian flag”, calling on the Dutch government to “protect Palestinians and Arabs” living in the Netherlands.

The national coordinator for combating anti-Semitism in the Netherlands said the line had been crossed and “such willingness to commit violence is disgusting”.

Mayor Halsema said Dutch anti-terrorism coordinator NCTV had not made any specific threats about the match because there was no hostility between fans of the two clubs. There was nothing difficult in the match as Ajax caused a heavy 0-5 defeat to the away team.

But the unrest spiraled out of control soon after.

Halsema told of fans being “attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks” as they walked from Johan Cruyff Arena to central Amsterdam.

Police initially said it was unclear who was involved in the riot, although the mayor later spoke about young people riding scooters. She was careful not to give details about the ethnic backgrounds of those involved in the attack, stressing that this was part of the police investigation.

Several videos circulated on social media, with one showing a man being kicked and beaten on the ground and another showing someone being run over. In some unverified videos, people can be heard shouting pro-Palestinian slogans.

Two British tourists said they were attacked while trying to help an Israeli who was beaten by people on motorbikes. Jacob, 33, told the BBC that he saw “10 people trampling and kicking” the man and that they saw “lots of small gangs chasing him”.

When asked if locals were agitated when the Palestinian flag was pulled down in the city, the mayor said what happened in her city center had nothing to do with the protests over situation in the Middle East.

“I am extremely ashamed of the behavior that took place,” Halsema told reporters. “On Telegram [messaging] Groups of people talk about hunting Jews. It’s so terrible that I can’t find words to describe it.”

In a statement, Telegram said it had closed a group chat on the platform that “may be related to the disturbance.” The company said it did not accept “calls for violence” and would cooperate with Dutch authorities.

The mayor confirmed reports that taxi drivers were involved in the attacks, after the head of the Netherlands’ Central Jewish Committee (CJO) said they had “moved in groups and cornered the target to the wall”.

Israeli airline El Al said it was operating free “rescue flights” to Amsterdam to bring passengers back to Israel.

On Friday, those flights began returning to Israel’s Ben Gurion airport, where passengers were mobbed in the arrivals hall by reporters and asked to share their experiences of the violence.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke of a “holocaust” against Maccabi fans and Israeli citizens.

Herzog said on X that he was confident Dutch authorities would act immediately to “protect, locate and rescue all Israelis and Jews under attack”.

The violence in Amsterdam has raised questions about security for Israeli fans elsewhere in Europe.

Israel’s National Security Council urged fans to avoid a basketball match in the Italian city of Bologna on Friday due to the risk of “copycat actions”, although there were no reports of violence after the EuroLeague match.

According to Italian media, the Bologna police chief assigned a special escort for the Israeli players when they arrived to watch the match, which Virtus Bologna won with a score of 84-77.