November 2024 Amsterdam attacks

November 2024 Amsterdam attacks
Part of antisemitism during the Israel–Hamas war and anti-Palestinianism during the Israel–Hamas war
Amsterdam's Dam Square, where the attacks first began
Date	7 November 2024 (2024-11-07)
Location	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Methods	Riots, ambush
Resulted in	"Emergency measures" in Amsterdam
Parties
Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv Pro-Palestinian groups and football attendees Amsterdam residents National Police Corps
Casualties
Injuries	5 hospitalized, 20–30 injured

On 7 November 2024, following a UEFA Europa League football match in Amsterdam, Netherlands, between Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch club AFC Ajax, some Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were targeted in a series of attacks. The events took place amid heightened tensions related to the Israel–Hamas war, and some Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had been filmed pulling Palestinian flags from houses, making anti-Arab chants such as "Death to Arabs", assaulting people, and vandalising local property. Some Maccabi fans had also interrupted a minute of silence for the victims of the 2024 Spanish floods with chanting and whistles before the match. Calls to "Hunt Jews" were shared via social media groups after incidents the day before the match. Subsequently, Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were ambushed and assaulted in various locations across the city. The mayor's office said the perpetrators "actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them". The attacks also included instances of individuals being thrown into a canal, shot with fireworks, physically assaulted, and spat on. Five people were hospitalized, while 20 to 30 other supporters sustained minor injuries. Eight rescue flights were organized for the safe return of Israeli fans.

The attacks on Israeli fans were widely condemned as criminal and antisemitic by Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, King Willem-Alexander, and international leaders. The attacks and other acts by Israeli fans were also criticized for anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism. A statement released by the Amsterdam authorities four days after the riots described the causes as "a poisonous cocktail of antisemitism, hooligan behavior and anger about the war in Palestine and Israel and other countries in the Middle East", placing blame both on the antisemitism of those who attacked Maccabi fans and the provocations of Israeli hooligans.

Background

Pro-Palestinian resistance and anti-Israeli occupation poster in Amsterdam, 8 March 2024

Main articles: Anti-Palestinianism during the Israel–Hamas war, Antisemitism during the Israel–Hamas war, and Violent incidents in reaction to the Israel–Hamas war

See also: Israel–Spain relations, Palestine–Spain relations, and 2024 Spanish floods

Further information: Israel–Netherlands relations

The Israel–Hamas war began on 7 October 2023 after the Hamas-led attack on Israel that day, which resulted in 1,139 people being killed and 251 others being taken hostage into the Gaza Strip. Israel began bombing the Gaza Strip also on the same day, and by November 2024, it had killed over 43,000 Palestinians, more than 70% of whom were women and children. Israel extended the war with its invasion of Lebanon on 1 October 2024 that killed more than 3,000 Lebanese and displaced more than 1.2 million people across the country and Syria. A number of protests related to the war have taken place in the Netherlands.

There has been a significant increase in antisemitic incidents worldwide during the course of the war, including in the Netherlands. A few months before the attacks, the European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency reported a rise in antisemitic attacks across Europe, which were partly attributed to the war. The agency also reported a rise in racism and discrimination towards Muslims and Arabs in the continent.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv fan base is known to include far-right ultra groups that have been involved in racist incidents in Israel in the past, including directing racist abuse at Arab and black players on their own team. In March, prior to a game against Olympiacos, a man who had been carrying a Palestinian flag was taken to hospital in Athens after an altercation with a group of Maccabi fans; video footage appeared to show a group of Maccabi fans beating the man up. Two people were arrested.

Other European matches played by Maccabi Tel Aviv this season had passed without violence. However, security issues with hosting games for visiting Israeli club and national teams have previously arisen, such as the Royal Belgian Football Association declining to stage a Men's National League game between Belgium and Israel in Brussels on 6 September 2024, with the game being played behind closed doors in Hungary instead.

Events

Prelude

The match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv was a Europa League group stage match held at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Ahead of the game, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema prohibited pro-Palestinian protests near the stadium due to concerns over possible violence. Halsema requested an additional threat assessment from the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV), noting increased tensions due to the Israel–Hamas war and the upcoming commemoration of the Kristallnacht, but the NCTV found no specific threats. Mossad agents joined the team on their trip to "provide maximum protection", and Amsterdam police increased their presence in the city center the night before the match. Israel claimed that the Mossad warned of a potential threat to Israelis and Jews in the Netherlands prior to the match, sending a warning to security forces. Dutch security minister David van Weel has said they had no received a warning, but announced they would continue searching if they had missed something. The mayor later said that the match itself was not initially flagged as high-risk, as Ajax is traditionally associated with Judaism.

Local authorities cited concerns over the potential for conflict in various areas. Mossad also warned ahead of the event of an Israeli former soldier having his passport stolen and his details posted on social media.

6 November

By 6 November, pro-Palestinian activists expressed fear on social media about the arrival of Israeli fans. "The city is full of hooligans, including Israeli soldiers," said a widely shared message on pro-Palestinian social media channels. "Maccabi openly supports war crimes and genocide in Gaza. (...) Ask yourself, are you physically and mentally prepared to take on a crowd of hooligans? Staying at home does not make you any less of an activist."

Footage and reports showed Maccabi fans tearing down and burning Palestinian flags in Amsterdam on the evening of 6 November and shouting "fuck you Palestine". Dozens of Maccabi supporters gathered in front of Villa Mokum, a squat on the Rokin where several Palestinian flags were displayed. Videos showed them throwing stones at the windows, climbing the building and ripping the flags off. "They kicked our doors and tried to enter our house," a 23-year-old resident of the property told Het Parool. "They raised their middle finger and made decapitation gestures, saying [in English], 'We're going to kill you and we will come back'." Video footage showed a police car passing, not stopping, causing outrage on social media.

A Dutch police chief said there were incidents "on both sides" and that Maccabi fans had vandalised a taxi. A video showed a man attacking a taxi with a metal chain. Another video shared on social media showed a group of people kicking a man on the ground, first reported by the RTL broadcaster to have been a taxi driver (the NRC newspaper later reported that in fact the video showed Israelis being beaten). This was followed by "an online call" for taxi drivers to go to a casino where 400 Israeli fans were present. A Maccabi supporter was chased into the canal and forced to yell "Free Palestine", while bystanders chanted "kankerjood" ("cancer Jew").

The Amsterdam police escorted the supporters outside and said they had prevented other disturbances, besides small riots around the casino. By 3:30 am, nevertheless, everything in the city had quietened down.

On Wednesday evening after the incident at the casino and throughout Thursday, calls for attacks on Israeli supporters thoughout the day were shared in Snapchat, Telegram, and WhatsApp groups. In some groups, calls for another "Jew hunt" were shared after the incident at the casino.

7 November

Despite heightened security and the ban of such protests, pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempted to reach the Johan Cruyff Arena on match day.

Maccabi Fanatics ultras convened in the city centre, in particular around Dam Square, displayed banners celebrating Israeli war heroes and set off fireworks. They chanted, among others, "Fuck the Arabs". Other people, clothed in black, chanted anti-Israeli slogans. Police instructed individuals displaying pro-Palestinian symbols or chanting slogans like "Free Palestine" to leave the square. At around 17:00, they moved towards the stadium. In side streets and on Station Square, this led to fights.

On their way to the match, Israeli fans were captured on video chanting. According to The New York Times and Frankfurter Allgemeine, chants included "Death to Arabs", "Let the IDF win" and "Why is there no school in Gaza? There are no children left there. Olé, olé, olé." At the stadium, a group of Maccabi fans interrupted a minute of silence for the victims of the 2024 Spanish floods with chanting and whistles before the match; this was attributed by some outlets to the Spanish government's criticism of Israel's war conduct in Gaza.

After the game, Maccabi supporters moved to the city centre. Footage of Israeli fans being escorted to the metro by police after the match showed them singing anti-Arab songs. A video geolocated by Sky News to the Amsterdam city centre after dark on 7 November showed Israeli supporters pulling down another Palestinian flag from a building, accompanied by chants of "Olé, olé" and "fuck you". Het Parool reported videos showing some Maccabi fans walking through the city centre with belts in their hands, assaulting people. After midnight, chanting Maccabi supporters kicked the door to the house of a woman who had displayed a pro-Palestinian poster in her window.

According to the Dutch police, Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were ambushed and attacked in various locations throughout the city after the match. Halsema said the attacks included hit-and-run assaults carried out by "boys on scooters," who fled the scene when confronted by police. According to The Jerusalem Post, the attacks involved multiple assaults, with footage showing fans being beaten and chased with knives. Eyewitnesses reported attempted stabbings, individuals being thrown into a river, and attackers beating and spitting on Israelis. Video showed one man, apparently unconscious on the street, kicked repeatedly while lying in a sprawled out position. Other footage showed a group of men being chased down a street in the city centre, appearing scared, with shouting heard as they are struck by someone out of shot; one man is seen on the floor repeatedly shouting: "I'm not Jewish!" A report by Maariv also indicated at least one attempted kidnapping of an Israeli, and many fans sought refuge by barricading themselves in stores and buildings. Ten Israelis were injured and three temporarily went missing during the attacks, with the Israeli foreign ministry reporting later that everyone was accounted for. Dutch police said they did their best to protect as many Israeli fans as possible, organising buses to take them to their hotels.

A video captured after midnight by a Dutch photographer, Annet de Graaf, and verified by The New York Times, showed a group of men, many wearing Maccabi colours, picking up pipes and boards from a construction site, then chasing and beating a man. Despite earlier incidents, De Telegraaf reported that individual police officers denied that the Israeli supporters provoked violence against them in the evening.

Dutch authorities expressed a belief that attackers made a distinction between Jewish Amsterdamers and visiting fans; claiming there was no sign of attacks on the former, and no sign of attacks on Jewish synagogues. Most of the people involved in the "Jew Hunt" were thought to have been taxi drivers and youths on scooters, who believed there were ex-soldiers and Mossad agents among the Maccabi fans.

Further unrest

On 11 November, four days after the attacks, a tram in Amsterdam's '40-'45 Square caught fire, reportedly due to fireworks thrown at it that also shattered its windows. Local footage captured at least one person shouting "Cancer Jews". Amsterdam police arrested multiple suspects after clashes between dozens of rioters and officers led to the tram incident. According to the preliminary investigations Amsterdam police considered that it was not clear there was a direct connection to the previous week's unrest, and some of the arrests were made separately from the tram incident.

Legal

A total of 71 people were arrested in relation to the football match. Before and during the match, police arrested 62 people including three for public violence. Among the people arrested were 49 Dutch residents and 10 Israelis. No arrests were made on the night of 7 November during the Anti-Israeli violence after the match, but the police announced they would be searching for suspects. As of 11 November, nine suspects have been arrested.

Aftermath

The five people who were hospitalized were eventually released, while approximately 20 to 30 others sustained minor injuries. Following the return of Maccabi fans to Israel, video was posted on social media showing them chanting the racist slogans they had chanted in Amsterdam, including "Why is school out in Gaza? There are no children left there".

Amsterdam officials issued an emergency ordinance banning any demonstrations for three days after the overnight attacks, and giving Dutch police the authority to stop and search individuals. Police were also stationed in larger numbers at Jewish institutions across the city. The ordinance was extended for four more days on 10 November. The organisations Erev Rav and the Stop Racism and Fascism Platform cancelled a local Kristallnacht commemoration due to the 'violent' Maccabi supporters and the municipality's inadequate response to the events. They also expressed concern about the "failure of the police to protect anti-Zionist Jews and demonstrators, after the mayor and police of Amsterdam allowed Israeli Zionists to wreak havoc, burn Palestinian flags, wish death to 'Arabs' and mistreat taxi drivers."

In preparation for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League match on 14 November between France and Israel at Stade de France near Paris, French authorities mobilized over 4,000 law enforcement officers throughout the city with RAID escorting the Israeli team. Security checks near the stadium were also increased and a ban on political messages and Palestinian flags in the stadium was enforced. Despite this, some Israeli officials urged fans not to attend for their safety.

Media reporting

The UK's Sky News and Israel's Channel 12 edited reports and deleted social media posts referencing the anti-Arab behaviour of Israeli fans. Sky News removed references to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans tearing down a flag, speaking instead of "three men" even though the men could be heard speaking Hebrew in the video, and deleted a reference to Maccabi fans attacking locals. Channel 12 similarly deleted a post about Maccabi Tel Aviv fans tearing down a Palestinian flag and getting into loud altercations with Muslim taxi drivers after the network faced backlash, including from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son Yair, who asked, "Whose side is Channel 12 on?" The Jewish investigative journalist Asa Winstanley commented on the media Sky News removed: "The video explains the truth about the Israeli football hooligans who went on a racist rampage in the city this week."

A Dutch photographer's video footage, which she purported shows Maccabi supporters attacking Amsterdamers, was viewed and reported by media outlets as showing the antisemitic mob beating Israelis, including The Wall Street Journal, the German tabloid Bild and the Tagesschau news programme of German public broadcaster ARD. DW and Tagesschau issued corrections in line with the photographer's assertions. Many social media users disputed the reportage, as did the photographer, Annet de Graaf, who in a viral post addressed to CNN, the BBC, The Guardian and The New York Times requested that they publish an apology and a correction, as Tagesschau had done. As of November 12, 2024, they have not responded.

Guardian columnist Owen Jones criticised media coverage of the events in Amsterdam for failing to cover the Israeli supporters' behaviour in the run-up to the clashes, saying, "The world is turned upside down. In the world we live in, if you condemn racist fanatics literally relishing in the mass slaughter of children, then you will be branded a hateful bigot. Gaslighting isn’t strong enough a word to describe what this is." Marc Owen Jones, a disinformation expert and associate professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, similarly said that mainstream media, from The New York Times to the BBC, had given a "ridiculously skewed" version of events and "uncritically embraced what looked like an Israeli government press release".

Response

Netherlands

The attacks were described by Dutch authorities as antisemitic, and were condemned by the Dutch government. Some Israeli and Dutch authors have described this incident as a pogrom. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he was "horrified by the antisemitic attacks on Israeli citizens." He called the situation "unacceptable," adding that "the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted." Schoof also cancelled his attendance at the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan to monitor the response to the unrest. Justice Minister David van Weel stated the perpetrators would be identified and held accountable, adding, "We should be ashamed of ourselves." The city of Amsterdam banned protests for three days.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof castigated equivocation between the provocations of the Israeli fans and the "Jew hunt" that followed, saying:

"I also know that there are images about the behaviour of the Maccabi supporters. This too is being investigated and it is important that all facts are revealed. But there is a big difference between destroying things and hunting Jews."
"There is nothing, absolutely nothing to serve as an excuse for the deliberate search and hunting down of Jews."
"We have failed our Jewish community."

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands expressed "deep horror and shock" at the attacks, adding: "We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again." Multiple parties in the House of Representatives have called for an urgent debate, which is set to occur next week. Dutch politician Geert Wilders wrote: "Looks like a Jew hunt in the streets of Amsterdam. Arrest and deport the multicultural scum that attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in our streets," adding that he was "Ashamed that this can happen in The Netherlands. Totally unacceptable." VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz described the images as "incredibly sick" and the attacks as "pure Jew-hatred."

The Forward reported that many in the Netherlands' small Jewish community said the incident was being weaponized by far-right politicians like Geert Wilders and stripped of context, even as they worried about their own safety. Jelle Zijlstra, a Jewish community organizer, said that "multiple truths can exist at the same time", speaking of both the assaults on Israelis and footage of the fans shouting "Fuck Palestine" the night before. Zijlstra said, "There was definitely antisemitism involved in some of the events that took place. Were Jews attacked in the streets? Yes, but those Jews were also violent hooligans." A rabbinical student in Amsterdam said: "We don't know that the people who got attacked last night were those same people who chanted racist chants. There is real evidence that people went 'Jew hunting.'"

Amsterdam

Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema condemned the attacks, describing the perpetrators as "antisemitic hit-and-run squads." She said the incident was "a very dark moment for the city," and reminded her of pogroms against Jews in Europe. Amsterdam city councillor Jazie Veldhuyzen criticised the police for not taking action in response to incidents by Maccabi fans, and only sufficiently responding when they were attacked by Amsterdam residents.

A statement released by the Amsterdam authorities four days after the riots described the causes as "a poisonous cocktail of antisemitism, hooligan behavior and anger about the war in Palestine and Israel and other countries in the Middle East", placing blame both on the antisemitism of those who attacked Maccabi fans and the provocative behavior of Israeli hooligans. The statement added that the city had not received any prior warning from the NCTV, the Dutch counterterrorism unit.

Israel

Israeli president Isaac Herzog referred to the events as an "anti-Semitic pogrom" and a warning to any nation that values freedom. He expressed confidence in the Dutch authorities' ability to protect Israelis and Jews under attack. Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar advised Israelis in Amsterdam to stay in their hotels. Sa'ar described the events as "barbaric and antisemitic," and "a blaring alarm call for Europe and the world." He also reached out to his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, for assistance in transporting Israeli citizens safely to the airport. In addition the Israeli embassy in Netherlands said the attacks involved "kicking, beating, even running over Israeli citizens".

In a call with Dutch PM Schoof, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed "the supreme importance" of ensuring the safety of all Israelis in the Netherlands. Netanyahu emphasized the seriousness of the attacks and requested heightened security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands. Netanyahu arranged commercial flights for their safe return. Netanyahu also compared it to the Kristallnacht, noting the attacks took place on its 86th anniversary. Yad Vashem also noted the anniversary, saying the events were "profoundly alarming" and showed an "alarming resurgence of antisemitism".

El Al, Israel's flag carrier, ran eight free rescue flights from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv, transporting 2,000 Israelis. The airline was given permission to fly on Shabbat, Judaism's day of rest, by Israel's Chief Rabbinate, based on the principle of pikuach nefesh.

Gideon Levy wrote in Haaretz: "An ugly, criminal pogrom against Israeli soccer fans took place in Amsterdam on Thursday. Similar pogroms, carried out by settlers, take place almost daily in the West Bank. [...] While Israelis were being beaten in Amsterdam, in the Gaza Strip dozens of people were killed indiscriminately, including many children, as they are every day. The daily pogroms in the West Bank and of course the war in Gaza were not compared to the Holocaust; the chair of Yad Vashem was not interviewed about them [...] Israel set another record Thursday for the self-victimization it so very much enjoys, and the media set another record for the incitement, exaggeration, fearmongering and, above all, the concealment of information that doesn't fit the narrative that its consumers enjoy. Amsterdam provided an unmissable opportunity: Once again, Jews are beaten in Europe." Israeli-American journalist Mairav Zonszein of the International Crisis Group said it was "absurd" to compare the violence in Amsterdam to the pogroms in Russia.

Palestine

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry issued a statement rejecting all forms of violence but condemning anti-Arab slogans and the desecration of the Palestinian flag by Maccabi supporters. The ministry expressed concern over the three days of "violent acts" in the capital carried out by the fans, known for their "racist tendencies". The ministry also called on the Dutch government to investigate those responsible for the unrest and to ensure the protection of Palestinians and Arabs, citing concerns over the presence of individuals described as illegal settlers and soldiers allegedly spreading "racist notions" across European cities. The ministry warned of the growing influence of these groups, characterizing their actions as a "direct attack on Palestinian identity and symbols."

The Palestinian Football Association said they were "gravely concerned" about the incident, and condemned the anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia expressed by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans. It also said it "had presented FIFA with extensive evidence of such hateful expressions, yet concrete action remains lacking". According to France 24, no European leader has condemned the racist anti-Arab chants or the violent actions carried out by the Israeli supporters.

Hamas senior spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri attributed the recent unrest in Amsterdam following the football match to what he described as spontaneous responses to Israel’s actions in Gaza. In an interview with Anadolu Agency on 8 November, Zuhri stated that the events in Amsterdam illustrate the public reaction to what he termed an ongoing genocide in Gaza, witnessed live without effective international intervention to stop it or hold accountable those responsible. He further emphasized that ending the violence in Gaza is essential for upholding human rights and supporting both regional and global peace and security.

External links

News aggregators

• "Israeli football fans return home after night of violence in Amsterdam". Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ground News.