Israel is evacuating citizens from Amsterdam following hit-and-run scooter attacks on Israeli fans in the city following a soccer game, which authorities have condemned as antisemitic.
Five people were treated in hospitals, with another 20 to 30 suffering light injuries, and at least 62 suspects were arrested, Dutch authorities told the Associated Press. Ten suspects are still in custody.
Authorities said the assaults were fueled by calls on social media to target Jewish people. The attackers punched and kicked the Israeli soccer fans before fleeing to evade police, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog demanded decisive action against violence and antisemitism, and assistance from King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in the immediate evacuation of Israelis, according to a presidential spokesperson.
“We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again,” the king told Herzog, according to the spokesperson.
The assault took place before the Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday night.
Amsterdam authorities had banned a planned pro-Palestinian demonstration near the stadium.
A video showed a large crowd of Israeli fans praising Israel Defense Forces and chanting anti-Arab slogans on the way to the match.
“Let the IDF win, and f— the Arabs,” fans chanted as they shook their fists. The video also showed police pushing several pro-Palestinian protesters away from a Maccabi fan gathering in a square earlier in the day, and other videos showed Palestinian flags being ripped from buildings, according to CNN.
After the game, hundreds of Maccabi fans “were ambushed and attacked in Amsterdam,” the Israeli embassy to the United States said on X.
Authorities said they had to escort several fans back to their hotels after the game.
Halsema added that there was talk of “a Jew hunt” in Telegram groups.
“That is so shocking and so despicable that I still cannot fathom it,” she said. She called the incident “an eruption of antisemitism that we had hoped never again to see in Amsterdam.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already spoken to Israeli Ambassador to the Netherlands Modi Efraim, according to a press release obtained by The Hill.
“Tomorrow, 86 years ago, was Kristallnacht, when Jews on European soil were attacked for being Jews. This has now recurred. This was marked yesterday in the streets of Amsterdam. This is what happened. There is only one difference: The State of the Jews has arisen. We need to deal with it,” Netanyahu said in the situation room. “First of all, this puts us and them, the free countries and the Netherlands, in danger. This endangers not only us but also them. But first of all we need to deal with the danger to us. We cannot accept this.”
Biden administration officials have condemned the violence.
“We condemn the reprehensible attacks against Israelis in Amsterdam and offer support for the injured and wishes for full recovery,” U.S. Mission to Israel Ambassador Jack Lew said on X. “We stand with the Dutch Prime Minister, Israel, and all who condemn hateful antisemitic violence.”
