Israel sending rescue planes after Israelis attacked in Amsterdam

Israeli football supporters and Dutch youth clash near Amsterdam Central station, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 8, 2024, in this still image obtained from a social media video. (X/iAnnet/via Reuters)
Israeli football supporters and Dutch youth clash near Amsterdam Central station, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 8, 2024, in this still image obtained from a social media video. (X/iAnnet/via Reuters)

Summary

  • Street violence following a soccer game in Amsterdam saw Israeli fans chased down and beaten.

The Israeli government said it was sending planes to the Netherlands to evacuate its citizens after street violence following a soccer game in Amsterdam, where Israeli fans were chased down and beaten in what Israeli and Dutch leaders called antisemitic attacks.

It is unclear what set off the violence. There were no reported deaths, but there appeared to be several Israelis injured. At least three were missing, according to Israel’s foreign ministry.

Israel’s National Security Council urged Israelis in Amsterdam to stay off the streets, shelter in hotel rooms and avoid showing Israeli or Jewish symbols. The Israeli military said it was preparing to deploy a rescue mission in coordination with the Dutch government, using cargo aircraft as well as medical and rescue teams.

The Dutch police said 57 people were arrested before and after a soccer match Thursday evening between Dutch and Israeli teams. A planned demonstration against the Israeli team had been moved away from the stadium, but protesters still tried to head there and clashed with police, Dutch police said.

Eldar Shahar, 25, a Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. supporter who flew from Israel to Amsterdam for the game, said that he woke up Friday morning to a tsunami of messages from friends and a hysterical call from his mother. He went straight to the hotel after the game, so hadn’t seen the violence himself, but said that some of his friends had been attacked.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he followed the news with horror and had assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the perpetrators would be tracked down and prosecuted. “Completely unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis," he wrote on X. “It is now quiet in the capital."

Authorities in the U.S. and Europe have recorded an increase in antisemitic acts since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The attack killed around 1,200, saw more than 200 taken captive and sparked an Israeli response that has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians.

Summer Said contributed to this article.

Write to Stephen Kalin at stephen.kalin@wsj.com and Anat Peled at anat.peled@wsj.com

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