AA / Amdterdam / Selman Aksunger
The Dutch opposition party Denk on Thursday called for legal action against Israeli fans involved in inciting violence before the match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv on November 7 in Amsterdam, as part of the UEFA Europa League.
In an interview with Anadolu, Sheher Khan, leader and spokesperson of the Denk party group in the Amsterdam city council, criticized the fact that Mayor Femke Halsema used the term “pogrom” to describe the violence, a term traditionally linked to violent attacks against Jews during the Holocaust.
Khan accused the mayor of offering a biased interpretation of events, which ignores the provocations of Israeli supporters.
According to him, tensions were exacerbated by the actions of Israeli supporters, who attacked Palestinian symbols, tore down Palestinian flags and sang racist chants such as “Death to the Arabs” and “There are no more children in the Gaza Strip.
“This aroused a lot of emotion in our city, which is already shaken by the ongoing genocide,” Khan remarked, adding: “They also attacked some of our taxi drivers.”
While acknowledging the existence of some isolated attacks against Jews in recent years, Denk’s spokesperson sharply criticized the mayor’s use of the term “pogrom”, saying it was a form of an exaggerated reaction that unnecessarily fueled fears.
“She was not able to explain the extent to which it was a pogrom,” he said, adding: “She was saying ‘I wanted to address the feelings of fear and anxiety in within the Jewish community. But in my opinion, we can address the fears of Jews in our city by sticking to the facts. If you stick to the facts, you help the Jews the best you can as mayor of our city.”
And continued: “She stoked fears, amplifying them by speaking of a pogrom. Furthermore, in recent years, thousands of Israeli tourists have come here every year and there has never been this kind of attack against Israeli nationals. There has never been an attack on our Jewish citizens in Amsterdam. This never happened. And if that were the case, I would stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters.”
Khan noted the rise in fear within the Jewish community, but claimed that some politicians were using the situation to advance a “racist, far-right agenda.”
**10 Israeli fans arrested
Khan said details regarding the detainees were discussed at a city council meeting: “I am pleased to see that 10 citizens of Israeli nationality have been arrested out of a total of around 40.”
“They have now returned to Israel, but I hope that the Dutch authorities will ask Israel to bring these offenders back to Amsterdam so that we can try them for their actions, if they are found guilty. », continued the Dutch elected official.
** Denk calls on UEFA to ban Israeli clubs
During council discussions, it was revealed that Mayor Halsema had tried to contact Prime Minister Dick Schoof to explore the possibility of holding the match without spectators, but was unable to do so before the match , Khan said.
“It was a discussion that meant nothing in my opinion because they were talking about not allowing fans to attend the match. But they were already there. There were already 2,600 Maccabi supporters in Amsterdam. I think they should never have been allowed to attend the match,” he explained.
Khan also called on UEFA to impose a ban on Israeli clubs, similar to the one imposed on Russian clubs, due to human rights violations in the Gaza Strip.
“We should ban all Israeli football clubs from coming here, like we did Russian football clubs. Their country is committing genocide,” Khan said.
And added: “You know what’s going to happen – exactly what happened last week. So, in my opinion, they should never have been allowed to come to Amsterdam, and they are not welcome.”
Khan also claimed that maintaining the ban on protests in Amsterdam would not prevent pro-Palestinian activism, saying: “We are not protesting because we want to be on the streets every day. We are demonstrating because a genocide is underway.”
Party spokesperson Denk added that they would propose a motion to the Amsterdam city council addressing the ongoing genocide, saying: “If we do not stop this genocide, the problems and tensions in our society will remain and will continue to manifest themselves until the genocide stops.”
The events in Amsterdam erupted after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans clashed with city residents following their team’s match against Ajax Amsterdam. Channel 12, a left-wing Israeli media outlet, reported that tensions escalated when Israeli supporters removed a Palestinian flag from a building and provoked Dutch taxi drivers of Arab origin.
Images posted on social media showed large groups of Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters chanting anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian slogans.
Before the match, Israeli fans angered Dutch supporters by disrupting the minute’s silence observed in tribute to the victims of the deadly floods in Spain. Some Maccabi supporters lit fireworks during the solemn ceremony.
*Translated from English by Mourad Belhaj
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