Amsterdam Attacks: Israeli Soccer Fans Targeted

Israeli Soccer fans were targeted in what have been described as antisemitic attacks in the Netherlands after a match on Thursday.

Following the Europa League game between Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday night, videos of Israeli fans being attacked circulated on social media, although Newsweek is unable to verify the footage.

How Has Israel Responded?

Israeli authorities initially planned to send two rescue planes to Amsterdam although this plan was later canceled.

The Israeli military initially wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Following the severe incidents of violence against Israelis in Amsterdam, under the guidance of the political echelon and following the assessment of the situation, the IDF immediately prepared to send out a rescue mission in coordination with the Dutch government.”

However, Israel’s military later said the rescue mission would not be taking place.

“Following the directive of the political echelon, the IDF mission will not be departing to Amsterdam,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement provided to Newsweek.

“In accordance with the situational assessment, it was decided that IDF soldiers will be prohibited from flying to the Netherlands until further notice. Exceptional requests will be examined on an individual basis.”

Following the attacks, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar “urgently flew to the Netherlands on the request of the Prime Minister on Friday morning,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

Sa’ar will reportedly meet with senior Dutch government officials, including the Dutch foreign minister, as well as Israelis and members of the local Jewish community.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof condemned the attacks, writing on X: “I followed the news from Amsterdam with horror. Completely unacceptable antisemitic attacks on Israelis. I am in close contact with all those involved. Just now in a call with @IsraeliPM Netanyahu emphasized that the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted. It is now quiet in the capital.”

Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Government of the Netherlands for comment via email.

Some social media users have questioned whether the attacks actually were antisemitic, pointing out alleged earlier incidents.

What Do Videos Show of Amsterdam Attacks?

Multiple videos show Israeli fans chanting expletives and other slogans referencing the war in the Middle East. Newsweek is unable to verify these videos.

There were also reports of a Palestinian flag being torn down by unknown individuals.

Police in Amsterdam said that they held 57 people after protesters attempted to reach the Johan Cruyff Arena where Ajax played Maccabi Tel Aviv, but were told not to protest there, with clashes occurring after the game in the city center.

Ten Israelis were injured and Israeli citizens were advised to stay in their hotel rooms, according to reports.

Sa’ar referred to the violence as “terrible barbaric and antisemitic terror attacks” which are “a blaring alarm call for Europe and the world.”

Users on social media have engaged in debates about what happened and the significance of the attacks.

Elica Le Bon, an attorney, wrote on X: “I’m so disgusted by what I just witnessed. In Amsterdam, Israelis & Jews leaving a soccer match were beaten unconscious by mobs, thrown in the river, and forced to say ‘free Palestine.’ This is the direct result of normalizing antisemitism post Oct. 7, where the most flagrant acts of Jew-hatred were cast aside as just ‘bleeding hearts who are against the war.’

“Remind me again how these are all just kind people who care about humanity. If you can’t bring yourself to speak up now—after failing the Jewish community for the past year with silence and/or by insisting that ‘globalize the intifada’ was anything other than a dogwhistle to harass Jews around the world—you have no right to call yourself a humanitarian.”

Another X user, Ori Goldberg, a former university professor in Israel, wrote: “Murderous solipsism. Israeli football fans go on a rampage in Amsterdam, tearing down Palestinian flags and shouting racist slogans. Why? Because the very presence of anything Palestinian is a threat to the integrity of the solipsistic bubble we inhabit even when abroad. Then, of course, we are surprised. How is it that when we do such things we suffer the consequences? How is it that we are attacked? How is it that the Dutch police doesn’t recognize that we are on a mission for peace, that we are good while they must be bad?”

He continued: “Events last night in Amsterdam are presented as a ‘pogrom’ here in Israel. We do not occupy the same plane of existence as the rest of you. Our actions have no implications. We can never be the cause of anything. Everything happens to us. Only we are real. Murderous solipsism.”

Update 11/08/24, 06:55 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.