94Ha Viewpoint
During a football match in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, an attack targeting Israelis occurred. The Israeli Prime Minister immediately instructed to dispatch rescue planes to provide assistance. The Dutch Prime Minister stated that the perpetrators will be prosecuted.
According to international reports, Dutch football club Ajax Amsterdam defeated Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv 5-0 on Thursday night, November 7th. After the match, hundreds of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were attacked by pro-Palestinian demonstrators as they were leaving the stadium.
Dutch media reported that the conflict took place around midnight. Videos circulating on social media showed people running in the streets, with one man being assaulted.
Israeli Minister of Public Security, Gilad Erdan, posted on social media, saying, “Football fans going to watch a match faced anti-Semitism, attacked unimaginably cruelly just because they are Jews and Israelis.”
According to Reuters, the demonstrators were not allowed to protest at the Johan Cruijff Arena where the match was held. Local police reported detaining 57 people, and the fans were safely escorted from the stadium. However, several clashes were reported in the city center that night.
Israeli authorities urged citizens in Amsterdam to stay in their hotels and, if they needed to go out, to avoid displaying Israeli or Jewish symbols.
After the stadium attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately instructed the dispatch of two rescue planes to Amsterdam to coordinate the safe return of Israeli fans. He later had a phone conversation with Dutch Prime Minister Rutte.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office stated on Friday, November 8th, that Netanyahu informed Rutte that Israel would take a very serious view of deliberate anti-Semitic attacks against Israeli citizens and requested increased security protection for the Jewish community in the Netherlands.
Rutte, on the same day, mentioned on social media that anti-Semitic attacks against Israelis are completely unacceptable. He assured Netanyahu that the perpetrators would be investigated and prosecuted.
Since the outbreak of a new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7th last year, protests supporting both sides have erupted in Europe and the United States, leading to incidents of attacks between Arabs and Jews.
