“I’m not Jewish!” cried one man as he was beaten by a mob. Others were forced to prove this by presenting their passports. One man jumped into a canal to escape his tormentors. Still others were attacked with fireworks, punched in the head, and, in one case, kicked repeatedly while unconscious on the ground.

This could be mistaken for a scene from one of the many antisemitic purges Europe has witnessed in past centuries. But it happened in Amsterdam on Thursday night, when Israeli football fans were hunted down in a coordinated act of violence.