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Background: For centuries, since Doña Gracia Mendes Nasi helped Jews flee the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, the Netherlands was host to a notable Jewish community whose members included philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Jewish community was loyal to the House of Orange and prospered with the rise of the Dutch. Their fortunes fell with the Dutch, too, and by the 19th century 60% of Dutch Jews lived in poverty. https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/about/communities/NL

Over 75% of the Jewish community of the Netherlands were murdered in concentration camps. 30,000 Jewish people took shelter in their countrymen's attics and crawlspaces; 10,000 of them were eventually betrayed for a government reward. Anne Frank, most famously.

In April 2005, Holland’s Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, apologized for his country’s collaboration with the Nazis. Marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Westerbork transit camp, Balkenende said that the Dutch wartime collaborationist government “worked on the horrible process whereby Jews were stripped of their rights." Today, Amsterdam's Jewish community numbers nearly 30,000, but is considered distinct from the original community in composition and culture.

Video footage on social media shows Israeli soccer fans chanting against Arabs and Palestinians in Amsterdam, pointing to high tensions and unrest prior to the nighttime attacks.

Pro-Palestinan activists have claimed that the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were the first to engage in harassment and violence, saying they assaulted Arabs in the city and vandalized Palestinian flags.

Drivers in the WhatsApp group circulated the addresses and hotel information of their Jewish passengers.

Attackers used social media platforms Telegram and WhatsApp to coordinate a "Jew Hunt," as reported by De Telegraaf and confirmed seen by Mayor Halsema, Prime Minister Schoof,, Dutch authorities, the Telegraph and the Wall Street Journal

Telegram and Whatsapp

Described as Pogrom: JPost Cornell Sun Bipartisan group of US lawmakers

Planned in advance: JP AP Telegraph

Condemnation of the violence poured in from around Europe. 'Antisemitism has absolutely no place in Europe, and we are determined to fight it and to fight all forms of hatred,' said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. 'We want Jewish life and culture to thrive in Europe.'

BBC: Dutch King

The Dutch king says Jewish people must feel safe in the Netherlands, after violent attacks against Israeli football fans in the centre of Amsterdam.

Willem-Alexander said "our history has taught us how intimidation goes from bad to worse," adding that the country could not ignore "antisemitic behaviour".

(...)

The king alluded to that history, saying: "Jews must feel safe in the Netherlands, everywhere and at all times. We put our arms around them and will not let them go.”

Telegraph:

8 November 2024 - AP news - Mike Corder "Israeli football fans were attacked. The violence was condemned as Antisemitic"

Now it has emerged that the attacks on the Jewish football fans were planned in advance and co-ordinated using WhatsApp and Telegram.

The Telegraph has seen messages from a group chat called Buurthuis, a Dutch word for a type of community centre, which were posted on Wednesday, the day before the match.

One message says: “Tomorrow after the game, at night, part 2 of the Jew Hunt.

“Tomorrow we work them.”

8 November 2024 - Telegraph - Gordon Rayner, Connor Stringer Revealed: How Pro-Palestinian mob organised via WhatsApp to ‘Hunt Jews’ across Amsterdam

Giant Israeli flags are a common sight at Ajax home games. Today, Amsterdam also has a large Arab population, including more than 77,000 Moroccans who live in the Dutch capital.

Newsweek: European Soccer Rocked by two Antisemitic Attacks in One Week

CBS: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amsterdam-israeli-soccer-fans-attacked-after-maccabi-match/

"The Antisemitic attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam are despicable and echo dark moments in history when Jews were persecuted," Mr. Biden said on social media. "We've been in touch with Israeli and Dutch officials and appreciate Dutch authorities' commitment to holding the perpetrators accountable. We must relentlessly fight Antisemitism, wherever it emerges."

"This is a very dark moment for the city, for which I am deeply ashamed," Halsema said at a news conference on Friday. "Anti-semitic criminals attacked and assaulted visitors to our city, in hit-and-run actions."

"There is talk of people going on a Jew hunt (Dutch: jodenhacht) on the social media platform Telegram, Halsema said. “That is so shocking and so despicable that I still cannot fathom it.”

CBS News correspondent Ramy Inocencio reports, bloody brawls between rival fans around soccer games in Europe — so called hooliganism — are not new, but since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas and other militants sparked the still-raging war that has killed tens of thousands of people, antisemitism has surged across the continent and beyond."

https://www.barrons.com/news/dutch-govt-slams-anti-semitic-violence-against-israeli-football-fans-db1d7bc6

AFP: "Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof on Monday slammed attacks against Israeli fans after a football match in Amsterdam, calling it "unadulterated anti-Semitic violence" against Jews."

"In attacks that sparked outrage around the world, Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were briefly hospitalised after coming under assault following a match with the local Ajax team on Thursday evening." "'Four days after the attacks the shock, shame and anger remain. It was unadulterated anti-Semitic violence. We need hard action' to deal with those responsible, Schoof said at a press conference, saying that 'intolerance cannot be met with tolerance'."

"After the match, groups of men on scooters engaged in "hit-and-run" attacks on Maccabi fans in areas of the city. Police said the attackers were mobilised by calls on social media to target Jewish people. The clashes came amid a rise in anti-Semitism globally since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza."

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20241111-dutch-pm-condemns-anti-semitic-violence-after-amsterdam-football-match France24: Dutch PM condemns antisemitic violence

"I also know that there are images about the behaviour of the Maccabi supporters. This too is being investigated and it is important that all facts are revealed" Schoof said

Maccabi fans burned a Palestinian flag on the Dam central square and vandalised a taxi before the clash at the Johann Cruyff stadium, Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla said Friday.

Unverified video on social media purportedly filmed on Thursday appeared to show Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slogans.

"But there is a big difference between destroying things and hunting Jews."

"There is nothing, absolutely nothing to serve as an excuse for the deliberate search and hunting down of Jews," said the prime minister, adding: "We have failed our Jewish community."

}}

Schoof said he saw video images and "that there is a specific group of youngsters, with a migration background who were overrepresented in the hit-and-run actions."

Schoof is to meet members of the Jewish community on Tuesday to discuss measures to combat anti-Semitism.

Amsterdam's mayor Femke Halsema on Friday announced an independent probe into the violence and emergency measures including a ban on demonstrations lasting until this Thursday.

https://archive.ph/lYoJB#selection-2561.381-2565.199

Pre-planned attack on Jews, not spontaneous football hooliganism:

Messaging app Telegram was used to talk about “going on Jew hunts,” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said. “This is so shocking and despicable that I cannot get over it yet. It is a disgrace,” she said. A screenshot of a pro-Palestinian WhatsApp group chat, viewed by the Journal, called for a “Jew Hunt” on Thursday and referred to a standoff on Wednesday night in which a group of Israeli fans were cornered by a crowd that police said included taxi drivers who had responded to an online call to mobilize.

Messaging app Telegram was used to talk about “going on Jew hunts,” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said. “This is so shocking and despicable that I cannot get over it yet. It is a disgrace.” A screenshot of a pro-Palestinian WhatsApp group chat, viewed by the Journal, called for a “Jew Hunt” on Thursday and referred to a standoff on Wednesday night in which a group of Israeli fans were cornered by a crowd that police said included taxi drivers who had responded to an online call to mobilize.

https://www.barrons.com/news/israeli-club-s-ceo-says-amsterdam-violence-not-about-football-1485d7a8 AFP: "The violence that erupted after a Europa League match in Amsterdam had nothing to do with football, the CEO of the Israeli club whose fans were injured said on Friday. 'This was not connected to football... Lots of people went to a football game to support Maccabi Tel Aviv, to support Israel, to support the Star of David, and for them to be running into rivers, to be kicked while defenceless on the floor ... that's very, very sad times for us all given the last year that we’ve had to experience,' the club's CEO Ben Mansford told journalists at Ben Gurion airport.

"The mayor condemned the attacks (...) saying there was 'no excuse.'"

WSJ: Messaging app Telegram was used to talk about “going on Jew hunts,” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said. “This is so shocking and despicable that I cannot get over it yet. It is a disgrace,” she said. A screenshot of a pro-Palestinian WhatsApp group chat, viewed by the Journal, called for a “Jew Hunt” on Thursday and referred to a standoff on Wednesday night in which a group of Israeli fans were cornered by a crowd that police said included taxi drivers who had responded to an online call to mobilize.

Coverage: Initial reports focused on alleged instigation by Maccabi fans, but subsequent revisions removed emphasis from these incidents. https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2024-11-10/ty-article/.premium/israeli-foreign-media-outlets-revise-coverage-of-amsterdam-attacks-on-israeli-soccer-fans/00000193-16d9-dded-abb3-fedf03e40000 https://archive.is/7ZgKt#selection-909.354-921.155

Dozens detained after defying Amsterdam protest ban https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/dozens-detained-after-defying-amsterdam-protest-ban/article68854288.ece https://archive.ph/wREpt The Europa League game Thursday finished largely in a peaceful atmosphere, praised by the Ajax club.

“They knew everything,” said Shachar Bitton, a 30-year-old Maccabi fan. “They knew exactly where we stayed. They knew exactly which hotels, which street we were going to take. It was all well-organized, well-prepared.”

Two Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, Aviv and Harel, told the Kan public broadcaster: “There was a police force standing on the side, not doing too much when there was some kind of protest. Each of us had been to the Netherlands four times; we had never felt like this before.”

Demographics: "Today, Amsterdam also has a large Arab population, including more than 77,000 Moroccans who live in the Dutch capital."

Rioters sought to attack Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before the soccer match, but police were able to prevent the attack.

De Telegraaf via Jerusalem Post:

Along with calls for violence against Jewish people and Israelis in messaging groups, addresses of Jews were allegedly circulated among drivers in WhatsApp groups, De Telegraaf wrote.

The organized violent antisemitic rampage which took place in Amsterdam Thursday night shocked many in the European continent and beyond. Now, several days later, more and more information regarding the events and the organizers began to flow, with findings pointing to a PGNL, a Hamas-affiliated group active in the Netherlands, as a main organizer of the anti-Israel protests in the country.

Description:

{quote|In the aftermath of the attacks, many shaken and traumatised Maccabi fans said they were the victim of what some said were pre-planned attacks that could have ended in fatalities One shaken Israeli woman who spoke to Dutch media NOS from Amsterdam’s Schipol airport: “It seems like it was organised. There were a lot of people. They saw everyone in yellow. They jumped on us. They stabbed people. They beat them. They did horrible things. We hid in the hotel until it was safe outside.” }}

Some Israeli football fans said they were ordered to show their passports when they were set upon.

Gal Binyanmin Tshuva, 29, told the BBC he was attacked on Wednesday outside a casino after watching a different football game.

"We faced around 20 people who ran towards us. They asked me where I was from, and I said I was from Greece. They said they didn’t believe me and they asked to see my passport.

When he told them he didn't have it, the men beat him, pushed him to the ground and kicked his face, Mr Tshuva said.

"I don’t remember anything after that, and I woke up in an ambulance with blood all over my face, and realised they had broken two of my teeth."

One piece of footage posted online shows a man who had jumped into a canal in a desperate attempt to escape his attackers. As he thrashes around in the water, a pursuer shouts: “Say Free Palestine, and we’ll let you go,” and spits out a vile Dutch phrase that means “Cancer Jew”. The person who posted the video on X commented: “This coward jumped into the canal, afraid of getting beaten.” It was accompanied by “crying with laughter” emojis.

Ben Myers, a British-Israeli living in Amsterdam, said injured football fans were rushed to safe houses by a group of Israeli men and women who mobilised on WhatsApp groups.

Mr Myers, who helped coordinate the rapid response, said the Jewish community had been failed by the Dutch police.

He added: “It really was a testament to the power of the women, organising a mini Dunkirk and getting Israelis to safety.

“There were definitely people being pushed into canals. They must have known it was going to kick off. One of the biggest gripes was the lack of police action. A lot of Israelis were saying they didn’t see police for hours.

“Even when they did, they were driving nonchalantly by. It was definitely a failure by the Dutch police to protect the football fans.”

Pro-Palestinian motivation:

In one video, attackers refuse to let a swimming man out of the water unless he meets their demands. "Say Free Palestine and we'll let you go" and calling him a "Cancer Jew"

Tensions had been running high before the match because Amsterdam was in the midst of a week of pro-Palestinian protests. The demonstrators had wanted to protest at the Johan Cruyff Arena, home of Ajax, but Femke Halsema, the city’s mayor, ordered police to keep them a kilometre away from the stadium. One piece of footage posted online shows a man who had jumped into a canal in a desperate attempt to escape his attackers. As he thrashes around in the water, a pursuer shouts: “Say Free Palestine, and we’ll let you go,” and spits out a vile Dutch phrase that means “Cancer Jew”. The person who posted the video on X commented: “This coward jumped into the canal, afraid of getting beaten.” It was accompanied by “crying with laughter” emojis.
[...]
"It's for the children, motherfucker!" "Free Palestine now!"
The victims included a man wearing the yellow strip of Tel Aviv crouching on the ground as his attackers kicked him and shouted: “It’s for the children motherf------.”
“Please take all my money,” he responded in desperation, in a video posted on social media.
The attackers responded: “Free Palestine now.”

[...]

"Now you know how it feels. That's Gaza. That's Palestine. That's Gaza, motherfucker!"

"Further video footage showed a man being kicked to the ground as fireworks went off around him. He was dragged along the street and then tried to escape as a pro-Palestinian assailant filmed the scene and said: 'Now you know how it feels. - That’s Gaza. That’s Palestine. That’s Gaza motherf-----.'"

Prior incidents:

Bigotry such as racism and Antisemitism are more intense within contexts related to Football than in general society, with Antisemitic incidents including invocation of the Holocaust, hissing to imitate gas chambers, and chants and signs, exceeding the severity of most "banter." In 2013, at a match between Lech Poznan at Wiszew Lodz, football fans cheered: "Move on, Jews! Your home is at Auschwitz! Send you to the gas (chamber)!"

The night of the match, Fenehrbaçer was playing nearby. The team's fans and players have been criticized for racism, including an incident when a fan waved a banana at a black player. https://www.si.com/soccer/2013/05/14/didier-drogba-galatasaray-fan-banana

Ajax Football Club has an affinity for Jewish culture and its fans are known as "SuperJews," often flying Israeli flags during games. Rival crowds regularly jeer, "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the Gas." Ajax beat Maccabi 5-0. The match ended amicably with Maccabi fans singing tribute to Ajax. Ajax fans were not involved in the subsequent violence.

Unlike typical football-related violence, the attacks were not done by fans of one team to the other, or at all related to the match; but rather were conducted by outside groups including pro-Palestinians and hundreds of taxi/rideshare drivers coordinating on social media, targeting Jews in general during the time when the football fans would be walking back to their hotels. The primarily Moroccan-Dutch taxi drivers who planned the attacks on social media shared the addresses and hotel information of Jews, recorded over several days, as well as information of their present whereabouts.

The attacks began before the game, and intensified after the match ended at 11 PM.

The New York Times identified 19 videos showing attacks. Most were posted by the attackers, some with mirthful captions.

In several videos, the attackers run through the streets shouting in Arabic and Dutch and demanding to see passports from non-Dutch speakers, beating those who fail to comply.

"I'm not Jewish" protests a man as he is punched by multiple attackers. A pair of British Jewish bystanders who witnessed an attack and offered assistance to the victim, were attacked themselves for "helping the Jew" One man had his teeth knocked out. One man was forced into the canal and blocked from coming out until he said "free Palestine." Several people reported being struck by vehicles, especially taxis.

Palestinian authorities and sympathetic social media users attempted to justify the attacks as a response to Israeli hooliganism.

However, the attacks did not occur in the direct aftermath of the supposed provocations, and the provocateurs were not the target, but rather Jews as a whole. Several of the targets were women and children. In no videos can the victims be seen partaking in any hooliganism.

Social media

At some point after midnight, a group of Maccabi fans armed themselves with pipes from a construction site and were seen running through the streets. They were misidentified as Arab attackers in earlier coverage. DW and New York Times retracted their earlier characterization and reported the multiple angles show the youths were wearing Maccabi colors and could be seen hitting someone. The alternate angle video is no longer available. Reuters updated their description to say the identity was unclear.

Amsterdam Jews organized a rapid response to provide safe shelter to their coreligionists.

Uber & Lyft statement: Whatsapp and Telegram statement:

But over time what seemed to many people like a harmless -- if peculiar -- custom has taken on a more sinister tone. Fans of Ajax's biggest rivals began giving the Nazis' signature straight-arm salute or chanting "Hamas, Hamas!" to provoke Ajax supporters. Ajax games have been marred by shouts of "Jews to the gas!" or simply hissing to simulate the sound of gas escaping.

In 2019, Tottenham hosting West Ham, in reference to the latter's Jewish owner, chanted: "Fucking Jews!" In 2013, at a match between Lech Poznan at Wiszew Lodz, football fans cheered: "Move on, Jews! Your home is at Auschwitz! Send you to the gas (chamber)!"

For Danny (mid-60s), “The worse of the antisemitism I’ve faced was, still is, always predominantly from Chelsea and West Ham who make the hissing sounds. It was pretty bad in the 1970s and 1980s. It’s nowhere near as bad as it was, but still happens’. Gareth (late 40s) remembered, “In the 1980s, early 1990s, Chelsea singing songs about gassing us in the chambers: “Spurs are on their way to Belsen” – they’re awful songs’. Ledley’s (early 20s) “earliest memory of it was Wolves away in the early 2000s. I was only a young teenager but remember a Wolves fan standing on his own doing a Nazi salute to us. He got chucked out, but I was shocked it happened”. A more recent testimony, evidencing this is still a contemporary problem, came from Steve (mid-20s): “Last season away at Leicester … one of their supporters did a Nazi salute at us’. Several interviewees suggested stewarding, policing and surveillance has “improved”, but also changed the nature of some supporters’ behaviour. Ben (39) explained, “They don’t tend do it at the ground anymore, but it’s still in the streets, pubs, stations and tube”.

1112 Newsweek