Israeli football fans were set upon by ‘scooter gangs’ and ‘anti-Semitic’ thugs during clashes that erupted after a football match in Amsterdam overnight, with ‘rescue planes’ today sent by Israel to repatriate the injured and other citizens.
‘Hundreds’ of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were ‘ambushed and attacked’ in the Dutch capital as they left the Johan Cruyff Arena, according to the Israeli embassy in the United States, who blamed the incident on a ‘mob who targeted innocent Israelis’.
Shocking video shows Israeli fans being violently beaten on the streets late last night, with reports that assailants shouted ‘free Palestine‘ during the attacks.
Ten Israelis were reportedly hospitalized and three were said to be out of contact with their families following the hours of violence, which saw people out in the city forced to seek shelter in shops.
One victim suffered a broken leg after being set upon by a ‘scooter gang’, according to Dutch media, with some 800 police officers deployed to tackle the violence.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that two planes were being sent to bring Israelis home safely, with authorities urging people to stay in their hotels and avoid showing Israeli or Jewish symbols while outside.
Dutch authorities said the rioters were ‘actively looking for Israeli fans.’ ‘This outbreak of violence against Israeli fans has crossed all boundaries and cannot be justified,’ they said in a news conference.
The situation calmed by this morning, police said, adding that dozens of arrests had been made after riot cops were seen tackling some of the gatherings.
Jewish groups however have slammed the authorities efforts as ‘lax policing’, with many criticising the apparent absence of police in videos showing attacks online.
The clashes reached their peak after the game between Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Dutch team Ajax, which saw the home side win 5-0.
Hundreds of Maccabi supporters gathered at the National Monunment in Dam Square, with police making several arrests in the area for breach of peace.
Video shared on social media shows Israeli supporters pulling down a Palestinian flag in central Amsterdam as tensions rose before and after the match.
The hooded figures are heard making chanting ‘f*** you Palestine’ and anti-Arab slogans can also be heard in the footage.
Later in the night, video circulated of masked attackers, some reportedly speaking Arabic, chasing down Israeli fans in the city.
One video shows a man being dragged by his coat, with the person taking the video swearing at him and shouting statements in support of Gaza.
Graphic footage shows a man being set on by a masked gang who knock him to the ground and start punching him, as the man appears to say ‘I am not Jewish’ as he pleads with them to stop.
Further video shows a man covering his head as he is hit by an attacker yelling ‘this is for the children… free Palestine now!’
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denounced the ‘completely unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis’.
‘I followed with horror the coverage from Amsterdam,’ Schoof wrote on X, adding that he had spoken with Netanyahu to assure him that ‘the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted’.
Netanyahu’s office said he told Schoof that he ‘views the premeditated anti-Semitic attack against Israeli citizens with utmost seriousness and requested increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands’, his office said.
Britain’s Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said on X: ‘Utterly devastating scenes from The Netherlands. Hateful mobs have chased down Jewish & Israeli football fans on the streets of Amsterdam after a match, violently beating them and proudly posting the footage on social media.
‘Many are injured and three people are currently missing. This should be a watershed moment for Europe and for the world, when it realises how severe the scourge of anti-Jewish hatred has become.
‘Sadly, I fear it will not be and that tragically, this will not be the last such attack, God forbid.’
The head of the Holocaust Educational Trust, Karen Pollock CBE, said of the events: ‘We are absolutely horrified at the shocking scenes from Amsterdam where Israeli and Jewish football fans have been hunted down, threatened and beaten up.
‘We are reminded yet again that antisemitism starts with words but ends in violence. To see this on the eve of Kristallnacht where Jewish people were attacked, their homes, businesses and synagogues destroyed; and in the city of Anne Frank, must be a wake-up call for the authorities in European countries to deal with this rise of racism.
‘We will redouble our efforts to call out this Jew hatred and demand urgent action whenever and wherever antisemitism rears its head. We must all – Jews and non-Jews alike – say enough is enough.’
Dutch media outlet AT5 said the clashes occurred around midnight. It said that numerous fights, as well as acts of vandalism, had occurred in the city centre.
‘A large number of mobile unit vehicles are present and reinforcements have also been called in,’ it said.
A Dutch police spokesperson said that 57 people had been arrested. Authorities said the police presence will continue in the city today.
The army said it was coordinating a ‘rescue mission’ with cargo aircraft and medical and rescue teams.
Israel’s new foreign minister Gideon Saar said in a statement that he had requested the Dutch government’s assistance in ensuring Israeli citizens’ safe exit from their hotels to the airport.
Images on AT5 showed Dutch police escorting fans back to their hotels.
On Thursday, Amsterdam police said on social media that they were being particularly vigilant in the wake of several incidents, including the tearing down of a Palestinian flag from a building.
A pro-Palestinian rally demonstrating against the Israeli football club’s visit was initially scheduled to take place near the stadium but was relocated by the Amsterdam city council for security reasons.
