Investigators are examining the attacks against Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters, but also the behavior of the latter, Dutch media assured. Several testimonies report provocations from Israeli supporters, including slogans hostile to Palestine and other racist chants. The clashes continued Monday evening. Several hundred young pro-Palestinians gathered in the early evening in a neighborhood in the west of the city. A tram was set on fire, one person injured and three others arrested.
Clashes after Ajax – Tel Aviv: strengthening of security in Amsterdam, violence “reminiscent of the darkest hours” according to Macron
In Belgium, situations of violence against members of the Jewish community are also observed. “We regularly receive testimonies from people who no longer dare to say that they are Jewish for fear of being directly questioned and attacked.explains Patrick Charlier, director of Unia, according to whom the risk of contagion in Belgium from the incidents occurring in Amsterdam is real.
“The Jews are in a difficult situation because they are assigned, whether they want it or not, to the policies pursued by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. However, someone can be of Jewish origin and have empathy with the Palestinian people by demanding the right to a two-state solution”he adds. “You have to be able to sort things out.”The comparison with people of Muslim origin who had to justify themselves after the attacks committed in Brussels and Paris can be made, it is the same mechanism.”
4,000 police officers for 20,000 supporters: the match between France and Israel will be particularly supervised
“The positions are so polarized that the slightest position can be misperceived. In Belgium there is overall more empathy with the Palestinian people and the number of deaths which continues to climb compared to what the Israelis lived on October 7, 2023″adds Patrick Charlier.
Salami in a mailbox
Proof of the malaise, the hatred linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is felt even in public administration in Belgium. A civil servant, on condition of anonymity, was in fact threatened and intimidated by colleagues under the pretext that he is Jewish. He thus found… a piece of ham in his mailbox. “QWhat will be the next step? Burn my mailbox? I was also the subject of anonymous threats sent via a fake account on the encrypted messaging service Telegram. We are seeing a sort of hunt for Jews and a particularly unhealthy climate in Belgium and it is time for the authorities to put in place an action plan aimed at further ensuring our security.”
Within the framework of the law on harassment, internal structures exist to take protective measures in such cases.
