This is a developing story.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had dispatched two planes to Amsterdam to rescue Israeli soccer fans beset by mobs after a game between Ajax, a local team, and Maccabi Tel Aviv, an Israeli team.
Videos that circulated on WhatsApp and were shared by the Israeli embassy in the United States showed Israelis being beaten, fleeing attackers and, in one case, being rammed by a car.
One video apparently posted by assailants appeared to show an Israeli swimming in a canal. Israeli media reported at least one stabbing, and appeals for information on missing fans appeared on social media.
Israeli officials urged Israelis in Amsterdam to remain in their homes or hotel rooms and to obscure any signifiers of their national or Jewish identity. Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli prime minister, appealed to Dutch authorities to intervene, calling what was happening a “pogrom in action.”
The Maccabi Tel Aviv fan group said on social media that a number of people had been injured, some seriously. It tweeted that it was “thinking about what happened in the Holocaust and in other historic eras and understanding that nothing has changed.”
Haaretz reported that police had arrested 30 rioters and that a number of Israelis were injured.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been informed of the details regarding the very violent incident against Israeli citizens in Amsterdam, held an assessment with his military secretary and the minister of foreign affairs, and is receiving regular updates,” said a statement posted early Friday morning by Netanyahu’s office.
“The Prime Minister has directed that two rescue planes be sent immediately to assist our citizens,” the statement said. “The harsh pictures of the assault on our citizens in Amsterdam will not be overlooked. Prime Minister Netanyahu views the horrifying incident with utmost gravity and demands that the Dutch government and security forces take vigorous and swift action against the rioters, and ensure the safety of our citizens.”
The Israeli army said it was involved in the rescue mission, which it said had been coordinated with the Dutch government. The Dutch prime minister, Dirk Schoofs, and foreign ministry did not immediately comment on the violence in Amsterdam.
Reports in Israeli media said the Israeli fans were ambushed by people believed to be of Arab and Turkish origin as they left the game, which Ajax won 5-0. Video posted on social media showed young men chasing and beating people, shouting “F— Israel” and “Free Palestine.”
Videos on social media appeared to show Israelis removing a Palestinian flag from an Amsterdam building and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans descending an escalator while chanting in Hebrew, “Let the IDF win, banish the Arabs.”
Hundreds of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans gathered in Dam Square, Amsterdam’s main central square, before the game, which took place at an arena in the city’s south. A local news channel showed them singing “Hava Nagila” and later reported that police had escorted Maccabi fans returning from the game to their hotels to avoid violence.
The Amsterdam Police had previously announced that it was ramping up security because of concerns about clashes surrounding the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv game.
“In the run-up to tonight’s match in the Johan Cruijff Arena and an announced demonstration, the police are extra alert and present today,” the police department tweeted before the game on Thursday. “The municipality of Amsterdam previously reported that a number of safety measures have been taken to ensure that everything proceeds safely and orderly.”
The leader of the Netherlands’ far-right Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, denounced the incident on social media. Wilders, a hard-right populist known for crusading against Islam and immigrants, led his party to success in last year’s national elections.
“Looks like a Jew hunt in the streets of Amsterdam,” Wilders tweeted. “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.”
Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, called on the Dutch government to investigate the events and why they went on for as long as reports on the ground suggested.
“Horrified by the attacks tonight in Amsterdam, which are terribly reminiscent of a classic pogrom,” Lipstadt said in a statement posted to social media. “I am also deeply disturbed by how long the reported attacks lasted and call on the government to conduct a thorough investigation into security force intervention and on how these despicable attacks transpired.”
Lipstadt also noted the timing of the violence, saying, “In terrible historical irony, this is happening two days before the grim anniversary of Reichspogromnacht in 1938, when Nazi-sanctioned and led pogroms against Jews erupted across the German Reich.”
That pogrom, also known as Kristallnacht, is considered a turning point in the Nazi campaign against the Jews that became the Holocaust, in which three quarters of Dutch Jews, including 15-year-old Anne Frank, were murdered. The Netherlands opened its first Holocaust museum this year.
There were signs that Thursday night’s events would resound internationally. Rep. Brad Sherman, a Jewish Democrat from California, tweeted that he and other Jewish members of Congress would be discussing the Amsterdam violence on Friday with the Dutch ambassador.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
