The images awakened the old demons. Pursued, beaten up, sometimes thrown into the water… Supporters of the Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv were violently attacked in the streets of Amsterdam after the Europa League match between their team and Ajax Amsterdam.
The rioters, masked and hooded, left ten people injured, according to the Israeli authorities. Dutch police made 62 arrests, while the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, criticized during a press conference on Friday, “explosion of anti-Semitism” Who “hadn’t been seen for a long time”. “I understand very well that this is reminiscent of pogroms”she added.
Evacuation flights
Videos of these nightly attacks spread like wildfire on social networks. We see Israeli Jews being beaten, even on the ground. On some, attackers shout: “ Free Palestine »as well as insults in Arabic or Dutch.
In Israel, the authorities immediately reacted, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying they were considering “ the appalling incident with the greatest seriousness” et ” require (from Dutch authorities) to act vigorously and quickly against the rioters”. European leaders unanimously condemned these acts of violence, which recall, for Emmanuel Macron, the “ the most shameful hours in history.
After initially considering sending military planes to come to the rescue of Israeli supporters, the Israeli Prime Minister finally asked the El Al airline to charter planes to repatriate them free of charge. Three evacuation flights were organized.
Israel’s oldest and most successful club
Before this evening marked by unbridled violence, the day had already passed in a tense climate. Gathered in Dam Square, the Maccabi Fanatics, the Israeli ultra club, were filmed taking down a Palestinian flag.
Their Instagram account relayed their arrival in the metro: “ Let the IDF win, to screw the Arabs”we can hear them singing in Hebrew, as they descend the escalators brandishing the club’s colors. “ There are no more schools in Gaza because there are no more children in Gaza”they chant in other videos posted on social networks.
The supporters also did not respect the minute of silence in tribute to the victims of the recent floods in the Valencia region, in Spain, planned by the organizers. No doubt a way of criticizing the government in Madrid which recently recognized the State of Palestine.
Founded under another name in 1906, Maccabi Tel Aviv is Israel’s oldest and most successful club. “In this country where football clubs are originally emanations of political parties, Maccabi Tel-Aviv was associated with traditional Zionism, rather centrist, before its supporters associated themselves with the discourse of the current Ashkenazi right”explains Ilan Tamir, sociologist of sport in Israel. Like Beitar Jerusalem, which holds the sad title of the most violent and racist club in Israel, and unlike the country’s other major clubs, Maccabi-Tel Aviv currently does not employ any Arab players.
The Maccabi Fanatics had already distinguished themselves in March 2024, by attacking a man who was wearing a Palestinian flag, on the sidelines of a match in Athens. “ All violence is obscene and unacceptablewrote left-wing Israeli MP Ofer Cassif on X. Both sides should be held accountable for their hooliganism. »
