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Maccabi Tel Aviv fans land back in Israel on special flights; 2 say were beaten for being Israeli day before game; NSC: Israelis should avoid Maccabi basketball game in Italy
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht was “marked on the streets of Amsterdam” a day earlier when hundreds of Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans were attacked by anti-Israel mobs.
“Tomorrow, 86 years ago, was Kristallnacht, when Jews on European soil were attacked for being Jews. This has now recurred,” Netanyahu said referring to the events of November 9, 1938, a Nazi pogrom that marked a turning point in the escalating persecution of Jews that eventually led to the murder of 6 million European Jews by the Nazis and their supporters during the Holocaust.
“There is one difference now, though, the Jewish people now have a state of their own,” Netanyahu said in a statement during his visit to the Foreign Ministry’s situation room where he was briefed on Israel’s response to the widespread attacks in the Dutch capital, adding that those behind the attacks don’t just pose a risk to Jews but the entire free world.
The premier’s comments came as the first flight carrying Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans evacuated from Amsterdam after widespread violent attacks by mobs of anti-Israel rioters landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Friday afternoon, as the Foreign Ministry said that all Israelis in the Dutch capital had been accounted for.
A number of the fans said they had been attacked or made to feel unwelcome long before the widespread and apparently organized attack in Amsterdam on Thursday night following a game against Ajax.
Israeli officials said 10 citizens were injured in the overnight violence, apparently perpetrated largely by local Muslims and Arabs. According to reports, all Israelis injured in the attacks have been released from hospital in Amsterdam.
Hundreds more Israelis huddled in their hotels for hours, fearing they could be attacked.
On Friday, members of the local Jewish and Israeli communities scrambled carpools to escort the fans to the airport amid concerns they could be assaulted while en route to evacuation flights.
El Al said that three planes would bring Israelis home and will land in Israel between Friday evening and early Saturday, with paramedics and other medical personnel on board to treat those who needed it.
The airline does not usually operate on Saturdays, in line with traditional Jewish religious law, but eventually received permission to do so from Israel’s newly appointed chief rabbis, Rabbi David Yosef and Rabbi Kalman Bar.
The flights will be free of charge for all passengers who had booked a return ticket from Amsterdam to Israel with El Al and all other airlines, the flag carrier said.
Two Israelis who left Amsterdam on Friday morning and flew to London told a Channel 12 reporter on arrival in the UK that they were attacked on Wednesday evening — a full day before the soccer game — by Arab gangs in the city.
The two, who gave their names as Oren and Or, said they were targeted as Israelis and beaten.
They also said that they reported the attack to local police, who took no action.
A third Israeli, named Gal, said on arrival in London that he had been forced to the floor by assailants who had demanded to know if he was Israeli. He said he was beaten up by a gang of 8-10 people — “punched in the head; two teeth broken — and “woke up in an ambulance covered in blood.”
Footage screened on Israeli television included a video clip in which an assailant asked an Israeli where he was from and attacked him while shouting “Free Palestine.”
Another video appeared to show an Israeli in a canal in Amsterdam as a man demands he say “Free Palestine,” before they leave, implying he will be left in the freezing water until he complied.
Fan Tomer Talias, who arrived back at Ben Gurion on the first El Al evacuation flight, told Channel 12 that it was clear as soon as the Israeli fans arrived in the Dutch capital that they were not welcome.
“There was an antisemitic air from the moment we got there, whether we were in a restaurant or in a clothes shop, we felt it,” he said.
“Yesterday it felt like a terror group, they had weapons and their faces covered. They didn’t differentiate between man, child or the elderly,” he said.
Many said that Dutch security forces were nowhere to be found as the Israeli tourists were ambushed by gangs of masked assailants who shouted pro-Palestinian slogans as they hunted, beat and harassed them.
Amsterdam police said 62 people were arrested in connection with the attacks on the Israeli sports fans. The police said that they had started a major investigation into multiple violent incidents.
The leaders of Israel and the Netherlands, as well as European leaders, condemned what they called antisemitic attacks on the Israeli fans.
Amsterdam’s mayor said the city had been “deeply damaged” by “hateful antisemitic rioters” who hunted down and attacked fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv in a night of “unbearable” violence.
Femke Halsema described gangs on scooters targeting fans of the Israeli club, beating and kicking them in “hit-and-run” assaults.
“I can easily understand that this brings back memories of pogroms,” Halsema said, adding that she was “ashamed” by the violence.
“Our city has been deeply damaged. Jewish culture has been deeply threatened. This is an outburst of antisemitism that I hope to never see again,” she added.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denounced the “unacceptable antisemitic attacks on Israelis.” He added that he had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to assure him that “the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted.”
Israel said it held Dutch authorities responsible for the safety of its citizens.
Some videos on social media showed Israeli Maccabi fans chanting against Arabs. It was not known when exactly those videos were captured, but in them fans were heard chanting “We’ll fuck the Arabs” and “Fuck you Palestine.” Dutch broadcaster NOS reported that a Palestinian flag was ripped off a building in the center of the city.
Riot police blocked pro-Palestinian supporters trying to march toward the Johan Cruyff Arena stadium where the match was being played.
Israeli fans said they were 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 they were 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.
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.
The NSC also called on Israelis to avoid attending Maccabi Tel Aviv’s basketball game in Bologna, Italy on Friday night in the wake of the attacks on fans in Amsterdam.
The security body said online calls to harm Israelis and Jews were ongoing, sparking fear of copycat attacks at the match in Bologna, adding that Israelis should avoid wearing identifying Jewish symbols as much as possible.
Israelis abroad were also encouraged to download the IDF’s Home Front Command app that provides updates as needed.
Lazar Berman and Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report for Times of Israel (ToI).
