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Israeli soccer fans attacked in Amsterdam: officials

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been briefed on the details of a “violent incident” against Israelis in Amsterdam, his office said.

The Israeli government said on Friday it had sent two rescue planes to Amsterdam to evacuate its citizens injured in an outbreak of violence surrounding a Europa League soccer match.

Israeli and Dutch officials described the incident as anti-Semitic attacks.

At least five people were taken to hospital and 62 people were arrested, police said in a statement. The exact circumstances that sparked the violence were not immediately clear, but unconfirmed videos circulating on social media showed crowds running through the streets of central Amsterdam and a man being beaten.

Supporters of Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv had traveled to the city for a game against local team Ajax, who won the game 5-0. Authorities said pro-Palestinian protesters tried to reach the Johan Cruyff Stadium where the match was being held, despite the city banning them from protesting there. Police said Israeli fans left the stadium after the game without incident, but several clashes were reported in the city center.

Police said reports of a “possible hostage situation” had not been confirmed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he views with the utmost seriousness what he described as “planned anti-Semitic” attacks on Israeli citizens. He called for increased security for the Dutch Jewish community and ordered the Israeli military to send planes to bring back to Israel those wounded in the incident.

Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged all Israeli citizens in the Dutch city to stay in their hotel rooms after the attacks. “Fans watching a football match encountered anti-Semitism and were attacked with unimaginable cruelty simply because they were Jews and Israelis,” he said in a post on X.

There were reports that some of the Israeli fans chanted anti-Arab slogans and behaved provocatively. In Israel, some Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are known for violence and racism. Maccabi Tel Aviv fans reportedly punched a man carrying a Palestinian flag before their team's game against Greek club Olympiacos in Athens in March.

Tensions have been high in the Middle East and abroad since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage.

At least 43,469 Palestinians were killed and 102,561 others were injured in the Israeli military offensive against Gaza in response to the Hamas attack, according to Hamas health officials in the enclave. The war sparked protests across Europe and the United States in support of both sides, and both Arabs and Jews were attacked.

According to the Anti-Defamation League Center for Extremism, reports of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States have reached a record high since the Hamas attack in Israel last year.

A year later: Anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate incidents have been on the rise since the October 7 attacks

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said in a statement that there had been anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis in Amsterdam. Anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch government's largest party, condemned the attacks. “Ashamed that something like this can happen in the Netherlands. Totally unacceptable,” he wrote on X.

Ofek Ziv, a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan who was caught up in the attack, said masked men threw a rock at his head from a distance, narrowly missing him. He said he was chased before getting into a taxi and fleeing the area.

“The world needs to know that Jewish people cannot walk freely outside of Israel,” Ziv, 27, said in a WhatsApp message.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

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