How a night of ‘pogrom’ in Amsterdam unfolded
One unconscious man is kicked in the back. Another pleads for mercy in a narrow alleyway before being punched in the head. And a third Israeli citizen is made to shout “Free Palestine” after jumping into a canal to save himself.
Amsterdam is reeling from what has been called a “Jew hunt” and “pogrom” on its streets that has rekindled memories of Europe’s darkest hours.
After Maccabi Tel Aviv had played a Europa League match against Ajax on Thursday night, Israeli fans were chased with knives, humiliated and assaulted across the Dutch capital.
“I am ashamed,” said Femke Halsema, the mayor of Amsterdam, as she described hit-and-run attacks on the Israeli fans, announcing a temporary ban on protests.
“Boys on scooters criss-crossed the city looking for Israeli football fans. It was a hit and run. I understand very well that this brings back memories of pogroms.”
“Our city has been deeply damaged. Jewish culture has been deeply threatened. This is an outburst of anti-Semitism that I hope to never see again.”
On Friday, King Willem-Alexander said the Netherlands had failed Jewish people like the country had done “during World War Two”.
One video posted on social media shows a man who appears totally unconscious on the street as he is repeatedly kicked in the foetal position.
In another, a young Israeli supporter seeking to flee from pro-Palestinians in a narrow alley ends up crouching on the floor. He begs for mercy but they knock him out with a punch to the head as screams erupt.
In a third, a man wearing yellow crouched on the floor is kicked as his assailants shout: “It’s for the children, motherf—–.”
“Please take all my money,” he responds in desperation. They shout: “Free Palestine now.” He parrots the same phrase. “It’s for the children,” his assailant bellows as blows rain down.
A separate clip shows an apparent Israeli supporter swimming in a canal apparently in a last-ditch attempt to escape.
As he desperately splashes around in the dark water, his pursuer shouts out: “‘Say ‘Free Palestine’ and we’ll let you go,” and hurls an anti-Semitic slur in Dutch meaning “cancer Jew”.
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One man is kicked to the ground as fireworks go off around him, according to more video footage. He is dragged along the street and then seeks to escape as a pro-Palestinian assailant films the scene and says: “Now you know how it feels.”
He shouts: “That’s Gaza. That’s Palestine. That’s Gaza, motherf—–.”
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Dutch police drove a van close to a crowd as they rushed to the aid of one man who had been kicked to the ground in the middle of the road.
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The trouble started on Thursday evening when groups of people at the National Monument chanted pro-Palestinian slogans at the Israeli fans, Dutch media reported.
A Maccabi Tel Aviv fan dressed in a blue and yellow dressing gown gives pro-Palestinian protesters the finger and shouts out, “F— you,” as they march by. Police block him from approaching any further as the crowd chants: “F— you, Palestine.”
Police officers intervene during clashes after the match Credit: VLN Nieuws/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
There had been a heavy police presence in the city ahead of two major football matches coinciding with a week of Free Palestine demonstrations, and Dutch authorities had named a number of likely trouble spots including Dam Square.
Before the game, Ajax supporters had openly said they would challenge any of the pro-Palestine marchers who came near Johan Cruyff Arena, prompting police to order the protesters to stay clear of the area.
Officers warned members of the Ajax hooligans group F-side that they must not confront the demonstrators. Ajax fans wave Israeli flags at their games in tribute to the club’s Jewish roots.
Demonstrators run with Palestinian flags ahead of the match Credit: JEROEN JUMELET/Shutterstock
Demonstrators run with Palestinian flags ahead of the match Credit: JEROEN JUMELET/Shutterstock
In one video before the game, the two sets of fans can be seen chanting peacefully together, with one Ajax fan held aloft on someone’s shoulders.
In interviews with Maccabi fans before the game, they told Dutch media they were there for football and that politics should be kept out of it as they prepared for the match.
But despite some fans’ stated wish to avoid the Middle East conflict, in one video, an Israeli was filmed removing a Palestinian flag from a building in the city. He was filmed being hoisted up, grabbing hold of the red, black, white and green flag and ripping it from a window ledge.
And there were provocative chants as Maccabi Tel Aviv fans descended into the Amsterdam Metro singing, “Let the IDF win, we will f— the Arabs,” and, “F— you, Palestine.”
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Credit: Reuters/Michel Van Bergen
Tensions had been high even before the game and police had designated some parts of the city centre and south east as security-risk areas, granting them powers to conduct preventive searches. Riot police patrolled the streets and sought to protect bars and restaurants as one huge bang – apparently from a firecracker – sent nerves jangling.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators wanted to protest at the stadium, but Ms Halsema would not allow it. They had to go to another location, half a mile away. Demonstrators who tried to get to the stadium anyway were stopped.
In the aftermath of the attacks, many shaken and traumatised Maccabi fans said that they had been the victim of what some said had apparently been preplanned attacks that could have ended in fatalities, as they sought to leave the Netherlands on the first available flight.
“It seems like it was organised. There were a lot of people. They saw everyone in yellow (the Maccabi colours),” said one shaken Israeli woman who spoke to Dutch media organisation NOS from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
“They jumped on us. They stabbed people. They beat them. They did horrible things. We hid in the hotel until it was safe outside.”
Demonstrators run with Palestinian flags ahead of the match Credit: JEROEN JUMELET/Shutterstock
Others said they would not return to Amsterdam and were even scared to take taxis to the airport.
Police say they are investigating reports that taxi drivers played a role in the assaults on Israeli football fans even if “the facts have not yet been established as such”.
Chanan Hertzberger, the chairman of the Central Jewish Consultation, an umbrella group representing Dutch Jewry, mentioned their possible role in a statement.
“There even seems to be app traffic that shows that they meticulously prepared this pogrom, because that is what it was. They moved in groups, cornering their targets. Videos are circulating of abuse and attempts to run over Israelis,” he said.
Amsterdam’s largest taxi company, TCA, says that it had no evidence that any of its drivers had been involved.
But Hedy Borreman, the general manager of the company, said: “If it turns out that TCA drivers were involved in the violence, appropriate measures will be taken.”
In all, five people were hospitalised and 62 arrested after clashes, according to local police.
“I followed the news from Amsterdam with horror,” said Dick Schoof, the Dutch prime minister, who is in Hungary for an EU summit. “Completely unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis.”
Mr Schoof said he had spoken to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and assured him the perpetrators would be found and prosecuted after the latest example of rising anti-Semitism in Europe after the Oct 7 attacks and Israel’s war in Gaza.
Geert Wilders, the pro-Israel hard-Right politician who won last year’s Dutch general election, said, “Looks like a Jew hunt in the streets of Amsterdam. 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.”
Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, denounced the violence as a “pogrom”.
On Friday, Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, condemned the clashes, saying the “shocking images” of violence had been reminiscent of the Hamas attack on Oct 7 last year.
Israel’s top diplomat will travel to Amsterdam on Friday for an “urgent” visit, his office said.
“In the light of the serious events, foreign minister Gideon Saar will depart shortly for an urgent diplomatic visit to the Netherlands,” his ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the first of two Israeli aircraft departed for Amsterdam to collect fans after the football clash.
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