Israeli soccer fans came under an apparently organized, widespread attack by anti-Israel rioters in Amsterdam Thursday night following a match, with Dutch security forces seemingly helpless to protect the tourists as they were ambushed by gangs of masked assailants who shouted “Free Palestine” as they hunted, beat and harassed the Israelis.
Ten Israelis were hospitalized and three were out of contact with their families following the hours of violence, apparently perpetrated largely by local Muslims and Arabs, with hundreds more people reportedly besieged in their hotels and fearing they could be attacked again when trying to reach their flights home.
Israel said it held Dutch authorities responsible for the safety of its citizens as it prepared to send IDF cargo planes to conduct a rescue mission for those in need. Israel’s Foreign Ministry advised all Israeli citizens not to leave their hotels as it worked with local authorities to ensure their safety.
Dutch authorities said by morning that the situation appeared to have calmed down and that they had made dozens of arrests. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the violence was unacceptable, adding that all perpetrators needed to be prosecuted. “I followed the news from Amsterdam with disgust,” Schoof said in a post on X in which he also said he was in touch with Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the incident.
The violence began late on Thursday night following a match between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax Amsterdam. Fans reported being attacked by Arabic-speaking gangs after the match and ambushed outside the stadium and at their hotels by organized groups. Many of the attackers were masked and some carried Palestinian flags. Footage on social media showed attackers chasing Israelis, beating them and at times kicking them while on the ground.
Israelis reported being harassed and hunted by the rioters for hours with little effective intervention by local police, chased into hiding and hounded at their hotels. Some Israelis had their passports stolen, according to Hebrew media outlets. Some videos showed individuals on the ground begging to be left alone. One offered money to his attackers. Another clip showed a man with a kippah in the street being badgered by rioters demanding to know where he was from as he tried to get away.
Many described the experience as “a pogrom” that revived the trauma of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, particularly in light of the lack of protection by the authorities.
“They were waiting in groups at every corner and the moment they identified Jews they chased them,” one Israeli told Kan News.
“It was Kristallnacht 2,” a second told Channel 12 news. “We’re not safe here, we’re shut inside our hotel.”
“Dozens attacked us. It looked planned,” another told Ynet.
WARNING: Disturbing footage
Netanyahu’s office said the premier had instructed that two planes be dispatched to Amsterdam to bring back Israelis, and the Israeli military said that the mission “will be deployed using cargo aircraft and include medical and rescue teams,” in coordination with the Dutch government.
“The mission will be deployed using cargo aircraft and include medical and rescue teams,” the IDF said.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office quoted Netanyahu calling on Schoof and local security forces “to act decisively and swiftly against the rioters, and to ensure the wellbeing of our citizens.” He also asked for increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands.
The premier thanked Schoof for his statements on the attack, which he called antisemitic.
Israel’s National Security Council issued a stark warning to Israelis and Jews in Amsterdam, calling on those who are out in public not to display any Israeli or Jewish symbols.
Newly appointed foreign minister Gideon Saar said in a statement that he had requested the Dutch government’s assistance in ensuring Israeli citizens’ safe exit from their hotels to the airport.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon also denounced the violence as “a pogrom.” He added “These are the true faces of the supporters of the radical terrorism we are fighting. The Western world needs to wake up now!!” he wrote in a post on X.
Hard-right Dutch leader Geert Wilders, whose party is a member of the Netherlands’ government, strongly denounced the attacks.
“Looks like a Jew hunt in the streets of Amsterdam,” he said, suggesting the assailants were migrants. “Ashamed that this can happen in The Netherlands.” He too called the attack a “pogrom in the streets of Amsterdam” and lamented that the Netherlands had become the “Gaza of Europe.”
The US envoy to counter antisemitism issued a statement denouncing the attacks.
“Horrified by the attacks tonight in Amsterdam, which are terribly reminiscent of a classic pogrom,” said Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt. “I am also deeply disturbed by how long the reported attacks lasted and call on the government to conduct a thorough investigation into security force intervention and on how these despicable attacks transpired.”
“In a terrible historical irony, this is happening two days before the grim anniversary of Reichspogromnacht in 1938, when Nazi-sanctioned and led pogroms against Jews erupted across the German Reich,” she added, referring to Kristallnacht.
President Isaac Herzog called the attacks “a warning sign for any country that wishes to uphold the values of freedom.”
“We woke up this morning to shocking images and videos that since October 7th, we had hoped never to see again: an antisemitic pogrom,” he wrote on X.
He said he trusted that Dutch authorities “will act immediately and take all necessary measures to protect, locate, and rescue all Israelis and Jews under attack, and to eradicate the violence against Jewish and Israeli citizens by all required means.”
The Foreign Ministry said its situation room could be contacted for information at 02-5304358; 02-5303287; 02-5303644; 02-5303401; 050-5074986; 02-5303155.
Israel’s Embassy to the Netherlands could be contacted at +31703760570, +31642648282 and
+31648493297.