French Minister for Europe Benjamin Haddad wants to organize “an emergency meeting” in Brussels on Tuesday morning to discuss measures to be taken at the European Union level to combat anti-Semitism, following the attacks. of Israeli football supporters in Amsterdam, we learned on Saturday from those around him.
This meeting must take place on the sidelines of the General Affairs Council with the ministers of European Affairs, specified the same source who was not able to immediately communicate the list of participants, the invitations having been sent very recently.
Israel's outrage
On the night of November 7 to 8 after a Europa League match between Ajax Amsterdam and the Israeli team Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Maccabi supporters were chased and beaten in the streets of Amsterdam.
These attacks, described as anti-Semitic by Israel and the Dutch authorities, left 20 to 30 injured and sparked outrage in many Western capitals. Incidents erupted before the match, including the burning of a Palestinian flag and anti-Arab chants chanted by Maccabi supporters.
The war in Gaza, an amplifier of discrimination
This violence occurred in a context of polarization in Europe, with a rise in anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli and Islamophobic acts since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in October 2023.
This week, Benjamin Haddad said he was in favor of European-wide measures to combat anti-Semitism.
“I think we need to think about it,” he declared on Tuesday to the Cnews channel and Europe 1 radio. “The fight against anti-Semitism, including online hatred, is a fight that we have carried (at the French level) but it must also be done at the European level,” he also said.
