Dozens of Israelis were injured on Thursday evening in an anti-Semitic attack in Amsterdam after a football match between Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch Ajax.
Tensions had escalated ahead of the Europa League match, fueled by rising anti-Semitic sentiments in the Netherlands following Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, Reuters said. Before the match, videos of Israelis engaging in anti-Arab rhetoric also circulated online.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema condemned the “anti-Semitic hit-and-run squads” that targeted Maccabi fans, saying they were “attacked, assaulted and pelted with fireworks,” Reuters reported.
Iddo Gold, a Maccabi fan at the match, told NBC News that attackers waited at a train station and ambushed the crowd, using knives and motorcycles to chase people.
“Everyone was running through the streets,” Gold said. “Whatever they saw on the street, they tried to attack us.”
One unverified video reportedly showed an attacker punching a person while shouting, “This is for the kids! Liberate Palestine now!”
About 20 to 30 people suffered injuries, five of which required hospitalization, according to NBC News. According to authorities, 62 people have been arrested in connection with the violence.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof reportedly said in a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted.”
Netanyahu’s office said he had spoken with Schoof about ensuring the safety of Israelis in the Netherlands and expressed gratitude for Schoof’s condemnation of the attacks as anti-Semitic.
The Israeli government sent planes to bring its citizens, including the injured, home.
Netanyahu compared the incident to Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass,” when Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were attacked in Germany before World War II.
“Tomorrow, 86 years ago, was Kristallnacht, when Jews on European soil were attacked for being Jewish,” he said. “This has now been repeated. This was highlighted yesterday on the streets of Amsterdam. This is what happened. There is only one difference: the state of the Jews was created. We have to deal with it.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also spoke with Dutch King Willem-Alexander, who expressed his support for Israel and emphasized the importance of security for Jewish people in the Netherlands.
“History has shown us how intimidation goes from bad to worse, with horrific consequences,” the king said.
