In the aftermath of a football match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and a Dutch team in Amsterdam, the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, has publicly denounced the violent attacks targeting Israeli and Jewish people on November 7. According to Halsema, these attacks were devoid of any connection to the geopolitical tensions involving Israel and Palestine, and she labeled the events as criminal acts rather than protests. The footage and reports suggest that following the match, a group of Israeli fans had antagonized local sentiments by engaging in anti-Arab chants and burning Palestinian flags (JURIST).
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof echoed Halsema’s condemnation and expressed his shame over the incidents, describing them as “terrible antisemitic” attacks that have no place in the Netherlands. The prime minister reaffirmed that such behavior is intolerable in Dutch society.
The events took a chilling turn as rioters in Amsterdam reportedly assaulted people they presumed to be Jewish, underscoring anti-Semitic motifs reminiscent, according to Halsema, of the notorious Nazi pogrom known as “the night of broken glass” (BBC).
The Israeli embassy in the USA reacted strongly, asserting that the violent responses seen on the Dutch streets were entirely unjustifiable. They emphasized the need for fans to support their teams without the threat of violence and called for European streets to be free of such historical shadows (IsraelinUSA on X).
Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also entered the discourse, condemning the initial provocations by Israeli fans and pressed the Dutch authorities for an urgent investigation to protect the Arab and Palestinian communities residing in the Netherlands.