November 2024 Amsterdam riots

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by EliasAntonakos (talk | contribs) at 13:53, 8 November 2024 (completing merge). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 13:53, 8 November 2024 by EliasAntonakos (talk | contribs) (completing merge)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) 2024 riots in Amsterdam

It has been suggested that 2024 antisemitic riots in Amsterdam be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2024.

This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (November 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

November 2024 Amsterdam riots
Part of Antisemitism during the Israel–Hamas war
Amsterdam's National Monument, where the riots erupted
Location	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Date	2024-11-07
Attack type	riots, car ramming
Injured	10
Victims	Israeli Jewish soccer fans
Perpetrators	pro-Palestinian mob
Motive	Antisemitism

The 2024 anti-semitic riots in Amsterdam, also the "Amsterdam pogrom", were a series of violent incidents targeting Israeli and Jewish soccer fans that occurred in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on the night of November 7, 2024. The attacks took place following a UEFA Europa League soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv, an Israeli football club, and Ajax Amsterdam of the Netherlands.

According to Dutch authorities, the perpetrators "actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them." Following the attacks it was reported that 5 were hospitalized and 62 were detained.

The attacks were described by Dutch authorities as antisemitic, with statements of condemnation from both the Dutch and Israeli governments.

Background

Tension and violence between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel groups have increased amid heightened global tensions related to the Israel–Hamas war, resulting in anti-Palestinian and anti-Israeli sentiments and violent incidents. The match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv was a Europa League group stage match held at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Amsterdam police increased their presence in the city center the night before the match. Local authorities cited concerns over the potential for conflict in various areas. On Wednesday evening, police reportedly intervened to prevent a confrontation between a group of taxi drivers and a separate group of visitors from a nearby casino. Prior to the match, video footage circulating on social media showing some Maccabi fans allegedly engaging in chants that included anti-Arab slurs and statements praising IDF operations in Gaza. Other footage showed individuals tearing down Palestinian flags in Amsterdam, though the timing and context of these incidents remain unclear.

Israeli football fans yelled anti-Arab slurs, pulling down Palestinian flags while assaulting structures and homes, attacked an Arab taxi driver, threatened passers-by and interrupted the minute of silence for the victims of the 2024 Spanish floods with whistles before the match.

Prior to the match, Amsterdam's mayor Femke Halsema had banned pro-Palestinian protests from being held in the immediate vicinity of the Johan Cruyff Arena, with a planned rally being moved a kilometre away from the stadium. Despite heightened security, pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempted to reach the Johan Cruyff Arena on match day, although the city had banned such protests. The match itself ended without incident, with Ajax defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv 5-0.

Attacks

After the game, violence erupted in several areas of Amsterdam.

According to the Israeli embassy and Dutch police, Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were ambushed and attacked in various locations throughout the city. Dutch police have stated that at least five individuals were hospitalized and 62 people were detained following the clashes.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the attacks involved multiple assaults, with footage showing fans being beaten and chased with knives. Eyewitnesses reported attempted stabbings, individuals being thrown into a river, and extremists beating and spitting on Israelis. A report by Maariv also indicated at least one attempted kidnapping of an Israeli, and many fans sought refuge by barricading themselves in stores and buildings. Social media footage showed fans being pursued with knives, a pedestrian struck by a car, and a man in a canal being forced to chant "free Palestine." Ten Israelis were injured, and three went missing during the attacks.

Response

Netherlands

Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof, said he was "horrified by the antisemitic attacks on Israeli citizens." He called the situation "unacceptable," adding that he was "in close contact with all parties involved and have just spoken to Netanyahu by phone to stress that the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted."

Dutch politician Geert Wilders wrote: "Looks like a Jew hunt in the streets of Amsterdam. Arrest and deport the multicultural scum that attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in our streets," adding that he was "Ashamed that this can happen in The Netherlands. Totally unacceptable."

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema condemned the attacks, describing the perpetrators as "antisemitic hit-and-run squads." At a news conference, she expressed deep shame, calling the incident "a very dark moment for the city."

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands expressed "deep horror and shock" at the attacks, adding: "We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again."

Israel

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar reacted to the attacks by advising Israelis in Amsterdam to stay in their hotels. In the wake of the violence, which he condemned as "barbaric and antisemitic," Sa'ar described the events as "a blaring alarm call for Europe and the world." He also reached out to his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, requesting assistance in transporting Israeli citizens safely from their hotels to the airport, as reported by Israel’s foreign ministry.

In a call with Dutch PM Schoof, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed "the supreme importance" of ensuring the safety of all Israelis in the Netherlands. Netanyahu emphasized the seriousness of the planned anti-Semitic attacks against Israeli citizens and requested heightened security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. Initially, Netanyahu announced plans to dispatch "rescue planes" to bring Israeli citizens home. However, his office later clarified that the focus would shift to arranging commercial flights for their safe return, rather than deploying rescue planes.

States

France: Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau rejected calls to relocate an upcoming match between France and Israel, stating that doing so would amount to "abdicating in the face of threats of violence and antisemitism." He affirmed that the match would proceed as planned at the Stade de France, with security arrangements in place to ensure safety.

Palestine: The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning anti-Arab chants reportedly made by Israeli fans and the desecration of Palestinian flags in Amsterdam. The Ministry also called on Dutch authorities to ensure the protection of Palestinians and Arabs in the Netherlands.

Jewish groups and figures

Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, expressed "deep concern" and solidarity with the victims. The organization called it "profoundly alarming" to witness such violence, especially with the anniversary of Kristallnacht approaching. Yad Vashem emphasized that the incident highlights the "alarming resurgence of antisemitism, a cancerous plague that has infiltrated every aspect of our society."

Yonathan Arfi, head of the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France, called the events "a mass lynching, a systematic attack on Israeli supporters leaving the match. It is the crassest anti-Semitism that is resurfacing through these images.", adding that the victims were targeted "not only in the name of the conflict taking place in Gaza but also because they are Jews."

Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of the UK and Commonwealth, called the attacks a "watershed moment" for Europe, adding that "Hateful mobs have chased down Jewish and Israeli football fans on the streets of Amsterdam after a match, violently beating them and proudly posting the footage on social media."

References

"'A new Kristallnacht': Jewish, Israeli figures express horror over Amsterdam pogrom". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
^ Kent, Eugenia Yosef, Edward Szekeres, Lauren (8 November 2024). "Israeli soccer fans attacked in Amsterdam, in what Dutch authorities call antisemitic incidents". CNN. Retrieved 8 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Attackers assaulted Israeli fans after a soccer match in Amsterdam, leaving 5 people hospitalized". AP News. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
Video footage shows Israeli soccer fans taunting Arabs in Amsterdam with anti-Palestinian chants. Times of Israel
"Israeli hooligans provoke clashes in Amsterdam after chanting anti-Palestinian slogans". Middle East Eye. 8 November 2024. Archived from the original on 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
"Israeli football fans attacked in Amsterdam, officials say". BBC News. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
"Amsterdam bans pro-Palestine protesters from rallying outside Ajax-Maccabi TLV match". The Jerusalem Post. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
^ "'We were ambushed': Pogrom in Amsterdam wounds several, potential hostage situation". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
^ Crisp, James (8 November 2024). "'Jew hunt' condemned after pro-Palestinian mob attacks football fans in Amsterdam". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
"King of the Netherlands: 'We failed the Jewish community during World War II, and last night we failed again'". Times of Israel. 8 November 2024.
"At least 5 hospitalized, 62 arrested in attacks on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam | NL Times". nltimes.nl. Retrieved 8 November 2024.

External Links

Violence against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam

Massacres or pogroms against Jews

1st – 13th century

1–999

Alexandrian pogrom (38)
2nd Alexandrian pogrom (66)

Jewish revolts	The Great Revolt (66–73) Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136) Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus (351–352) Jewish revolt against Heraclius (614–617) Battle of Khaybar (628 CE)

1000–1299

Rhineland massacres (1096)	Worms Speyer Mainz

Ham massacre (1143)
Massacres at London and York (1189–1190)
Rintfleisch massacres (1298)

14th – 19th century

1300–1599

Persecution of Jews during the Black Death (1348–1350)	Erfurt Basel Speyer Strasbourg Zurich

1600–1899

Russian Empire (1881–1884)	Kiev Warsaw Fourth Odessa pogrom

Corfu pogrom (1891)
1898 Algerian riots (1898)

20th century

1900–1937

Częstochowa pogrom (1902)
First Kishinev pogrom (1903)
Zablotov pogrom (1903)
Kiev pogrom (1905)
Fifth Odessa pogrom (1905)
Second Kishinev pogrom (1905)
Białystok pogrom (1906)
Siedlce pogrom (1906)
Shiraz pogrom (1910)
The Tritl (1912)
Lwów pogrom (1914)
Skver pogrom (1917)
Tel Aviv and Jaffa deportation (1917)
Kielce pogrom (1918)
Lwów pogrom (1918)
Anti-Jewish violence in Czechoslovakia (1918–1920)
1920 Nebi Musa riots

Russian Civil War (1918–1920)	Lida Radomyshl Justingrad Skver Zviahel Pinsk Fastov Proskurov Kiev

1938–1945

1938	Tiberias massacre Kristallnacht

1939	Częstochowa Krasnosielc Będzin Wyszków Koźmice Wielkie Dynów Ostrów Mazowiecka

1940	Dorohoi pogrom

1941	Bucharest Antwerp Gabès Kaunas (June) Dobromil Szczuczyn Białystok Iași Lviv Wąsosz Jedwabne Farhud Ponary Tykocin Kamianets-Podilskyi Babi Yar Odessa Švenčionėliai Kaunas (October) Rumbula The Holocaust (1941–1945)

1942	Dünamünde Action Dzyatlava Łużki Iwieniec Marków Horodziej Mereczowszczyzna Sarny

1943	Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Kielce cemetery massacre Operation Harvest Festival

1944	Ardeatine massacre Luduș massacre Sărmașu massacre Kremnička and Nemecká massacres (1944–1945)

1945	Stary Jaromierz Leśno Deutsch Schützen Kraków Topoľčan Cairo Tripolitania

1946–1999

1946	Kielce Kunmadaras Miskolc

1947	Fajja bus attacks Haifa Oil Refinery Aden Aleppo Manama

1948	Tripoli Djerada Ben Yehuda Street bombing Cairo bombings Kfar Etzion massacre

1949	Menarsha synagogue attack

1950s–1960s	Night of the Murdered Poets (1952) Scorpion Pass massacre (1954) Istanbul pogrom (1955) Shafrir synagogue shooting (1956) Tripoli pogrom (1967) Purge of Polish Jews (1968)

1970s	Avivim school bus bombing (1970) Munich massacre (1972) Lod Airport massacre (1972) Ma'alot massacre (1974) Kiryat Shmona massacre (1974) Ben Yehuda Street bombing (1975) Coastal Road massacre (1978) Nahariya massacre (1979)

1980s	Paris synagogue bombing (1980) Antwerp summer camp attack (1980) Antwerp bombing (1981) Vienna synagogue attack (1981) Chez Jo Goldenberg restaurant attack (1982) Ras Burqa massacre (1985) Neve Shalom Synagogue massacre (1986) Purim stabbing (1989)

1990s	Cairo bus attack (1990) Crown Heights riot (1991) AMIA bombing (1994) Dizengoff Street bus bombing (1994) Beit Lid massacre (1995) Purim massacre (1996) Island of Peace massacre (1997) Mahane Yehuda Market bombings (1997)

21st century

2000–2009

2001	Dolphinarium discotheque massacre Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing

2002	Ghriba synagogue bombing Hadera attack Yeshivat Beit Yisrael massacre Passover massacre Matza restaurant suicide bombing Hebrew University bombing Rishon LeZion bombing Matzuva attack Hebron ambush

2003	Istanbul Tel Aviv Central bus station massacre Davidka Square bus bombing Café Hillel bombing Maxim restaurant suicide bombing Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing