By Anthony Deutsch and Bart H. Meijer
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Amsterdam banned demonstrations for 3 days from Friday after in a single day assaults on Israeli soccer supporters by what the mayor referred to as “antisemitic hit-and-run squads”, and Israel despatched planes to the Netherlands to fly followers house.
Mayor Femke Halsema stated Maccabi Tel Aviv followers had been “attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks” across the metropolis, and that riot police intervened to guard them and escort them to lodges. At the least 5 folks had been handled in hospital.
Movies on social media confirmed riot police in motion, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs. Footage additionally confirmed Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans earlier than Thursday night’s match.
“We saw a lot of demonstrations, a lot of people running. It was really, really terrifying,” stated Joni Pogrebetsy, an Israeli soccer fan in Amsterdam for the match.
Antisemitic incidents have surged within the Netherlands since Israel launched its assault on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after the assaults on Israel by Hamas militants in October final yr, with many Jewish organisations and colleges reporting threats and hate mail.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s authorities despatched planes to the Netherlands to convey followers house, whereas overseas minister Gideon Saar flew to Amsterdam for impromptu conferences with the Dutch authorities and far-right chief Geert Wilders.
Amsterdam banned demonstrations by way of the weekend and gave police emergency stop-and-search powers in response to the unrest, which uncovered deep anger over the Gaza-Israel battle.
Greater than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands and thousands displaced in Israel’s army offensive on Gaza, in keeping with well being officers there, launched after Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took greater than 250 hostage within the preliminary cross-border assault, in keeping with Israel.
In Washington, U.S. President Biden condemned the assaults as “despicable” and stated they “echo dark moments in history when Jews persecuted”. United Nations Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres was shocked by the violence in Amsterdam, a U.N. spokesperson stated.
SECURITY TIGHTENED
Mayor Halsema stated police had been taken abruptly after safety companies didn’t flag the match towards Ajax Amsterdam, historically recognized as a Jewish membership, as high-risk.
“Antisemitic hit-and-run squads” had managed to evade a pressure of round 200 officers, she stated.
Safety was tightened within the metropolis, the place a service was deliberate at a Jewish monument on Saturday to recollect Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom towards Jews throughout Germany on Nov. 9-10, 1938.
One video verified by Reuters confirmed a gaggle of males operating close to Amsterdam central station, chasing and assaulting different males as police sirens sounded.
One other verified video confirmed Maccabi followers setting off flares and chanting “Ole, ole, let the IDF win, we will fuck the Arabs”, referring to the Israel Protection Forces.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof stated he was “horrified by the anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli citizens” and had assured Netanyahu by cellphone that “the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted”.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke with Dutch King Willem-Alexander, who he stated had “expressed deep horror and shock”.
Herzog quoted the king as saying the Netherlands had failed its Jewish neighborhood throughout World Conflict Two – underneath Nazi occupation and persecution – and once more on Thursday night time.
Anti-Muslim politician Wilders, head of the biggest celebration within the authorities, stated he was “ashamed that this can happen in the Netherlands”. In a publish on X, he blamed “criminal Muslims” and stated they need to be deported.
Police stated there had been incidents earlier than the sport, for which 3,000 Maccabi supporters travelled to Amsterdam.
ISRAEL SAYS VIOLENCE RECALLS EUROPEAN POGROMS
The Israeli embassy in The Hague stated mobs had chanted anti-Israel slogans and shared movies of their violence on social media, “kicking, beating, even running over Israeli citizens”.
“On the eve of Kristallnacht — when Jews in Nazi Germany faced brutal attacks — it is horrifying to witness antisemitic violence on the streets of Europe once again,” it stated.
Police stated 62 suspects had been detained after the sport as pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to achieve the Johan Cruyff Enviornment, regardless that town had forbidden a protest there. Ten remained in custody on Friday.
They stated followers had left the stadium with out incident after the Europa League match, which Ajax gained 5-0, however that clashes erupted in a single day within the metropolis centre.
Herzog was amongst senior Israeli politicians who stated the violence recalled the assault on Israel by Hamas gunmen final yr in addition to assaults on European Jews within the pogroms of earlier centuries.
“We see with horror this morning, the shocking images and videos that since October 7th, we had hoped never to see again: an anti-Semitic pogrom currently taking place against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Israeli citizens in the heart of Amsterdam,” he wrote on X.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri stated that the mass killing by Israeli forces in Gaza and lack of worldwide intervention to cease it “is likely to lead to such spontaneous repercussions”.
“This emphasizes that stopping the genocide in Gaza is an essential part of respecting and protecting human rights, as well as ensuring regional and global security and peace,” he advised Reuters.
The Gaza battle has led to protests in help of each side throughout Europe and the USA, and each Jews and Arabs have been attacked.