Amsterdam bans protests for three days following violent attacks on Israeli soccer fans
By Eugenia Yosef, Edward Szekeres, Lauren Kent and Sophie Tanno, CNN
(CNN) — Amsterdam has banned demonstrations for three days after Israeli soccer fans were beaten and injured in violent clashes in the city overnight, which Dutch authorities condemned Friday as antisemitic.
Dutch police said they had launched a major investigation into multiple incidents following the Europa League soccer game Thursday night between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch side Ajax.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said criminals on scooters searched the city in search of Maccabi supporters in “hit-and-run” attacks. “This is a terrible moment for our city … I am very ashamed of the behavior that was shown last night,” she said in a Friday news conference.
Amsterdam authorities said Friday morning that five injured Israeli soccer fans have since been released from the hospital, and 20 to 30 other people were lightly injured. In total, 63 individuals were arrested and 10 remain in custody, police said.
Amsterdam has implemented several additional security measures in the wake of Thursday’s unrest. A ban on demonstrations in the city was implemented on Friday and will be in place for three days until Sunday, according to Halsema. There will also be a bolstered police presence.
The mayor also announced a ban on “face-covering clothing” and “carrying objects” that could lead to disturbances of public order.
The mayor added she wanted the city to be safe for Israeli soccer supporters, safe for locals and “especially safe for our Jewish residents.”
Tensions had been rising in the lead-up to Thursday night’s match with multiple social media videos showing Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slurs, praising Israeli military attacks in Gaza and yelling “f**k the Arabs.” Other videos apparently filmed in Amsterdam show men ripping Palestinian flags off buildings. It is unclear when those videos were filmed.
After the game, hundreds of Maccabi fans “were ambushed and attacked,” the Israeli embassy to the United States said on social media platform X, sharing video of the violence.
One video shows a man being kicked while he lies on the ground, while another video shows a man being hit by a man yelling “free Palestine” and “for the children, motherf***er.” CNN has not yet been able to verify those videos.
Another video shows a man shouting “I am not Jewish” as he is chased down the street, thrown to the ground and beaten.
Police have said the atmosphere at the stadium was relatively calm and fans left without incident after Ajax won the game 5-0, but during the night various clashes in the city center were reported.
The mayor added: “There can be tensions there are many demonstrations and protests and we are always prepared for them, and of course, they are related to the situation in the Middle East and the ongoing war. But what happened last night wasn’t a protest. … It was crime.”
“There is no excuse for the antisemitic behavior exhibited last night by rioters who actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them,” local authorities in Amsterdam said Friday, adding that police intervened several times to protect fans and escort them to hotels.
Police earlier said they had boosted their presence in the city center on Wednesday night, citing “tensions” in several areas, one day ahead of the game.
Officers “prevented a confrontation between a group of taxi drivers and a group of visitors who came from the adjacent casino” on Wednesday, the police said in a statement on X, noting another incident, in which a Palestinian flag was torn down in Amsterdam’s center by unknown perpetrators.
On Thursday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to reach the Johan Cruyff stadium, though the city had forbidden them to protest there, Reuters reported.
Kobi Elyahu, an Israeli soccer fan returning to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday evening, described the attacks against Israelis as “very frightening” and “like the 1940s.” He described seeing people locking themselves in hotels to escape, people throwing water and others “driving” and “stepping on” victims.
Most fans were subdued on their arrival in Tel Aviv. “It’s not a nice experience – it’s a bad experience,” one man said. “We go to Amsterdam for a vacation and a game. We never think that it will be this situation.” Some fans showed up to greet the returnees, shouting racist football chants: “Let IDF win, we will f*** the Arabs. Ole, ole, ole. In Gaza there’s no schooling, there’s no children left there.”
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof called the attacks “terrible” and “horrific,” while talking to journalists on Friday.
“There are always problems around football matches, and football matches regarding the Israeli team also has special attention from the police, but the things that happened last night are just terrible, horrific,” he said, before adding that he was “utterly ashamed” that this had happened in the Netherlands.
“This is completely unacceptable. I am in close contact with all parties involved and have just spoken to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu by phone to stress that the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted,” he said, adding: “The situation in Amsterdam is now calm once more.”
Netanyahu on Friday received a briefing from the country’s Foreign Ministry regarding efforts to return Israeli citizens from Amsterdam. During the meeting, Netanyahu compared the antisemitic attacks on Israeli soccer fans to Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass,” when the Nazi regime attacked Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues and homes throughout Germany in 1938.
“Tomorrow, 86 years ago, was Kristallnacht – an attack on Jews, whatever Jews they are, on European soil. It’s back now – yesterday we celebrated it on the streets of Amsterdam. That’s what happened. There is only one difference – in the meantime, the Jewish state has been established. We have to deal with it,” Netanyahu said, according to a government statement.
In a separate statement from his office, Netanyahu urged Dutch authorities to “act firmly and quickly against the rioters and ensure the peace of our citizens.” Israel also organized evacuation flights on commercial aircraft for some Israeli citizens.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar traveled to the Netherlands in the wake of the attacks, which he condemned as “barbaric and antisemitic” and called “a blaring alarm call for Europe and the world.”
Following a meeting with top Dutch officials on Friday, Sa’ar highlighted that Israel expected criminal proceedings against Thursday’s perpetrators. “We expect arrests, we expect a severe punishment,” Sa’ar said in a statement.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was shocked by the violence in Amsterdam, adding that he condemns all forms of antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry, UN spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said during a Friday news briefing.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said in a statement Friday that it “condemns anti-Arab chants by Israelis and attacks on the symbolism of the Palestinian flag in Amsterdam,” and also called on the Dutch government to “protect Palestinians and Arabs in the Netherlands.”
The Palestine Football Association also issued a statement saying it is “gravely concerned by the sequence of violent events in Amsterdam,” accusing Maccabi Tel Aviv fans of “incitement to violence, anti-Palestinian racism, and Islamophobia.”
Israel’s National Security Council urged citizens to avoid affiliated basketball team Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Friday night game against Virtus Bologna in Italy.
The Israeli foreign ministry is reviewing security for Israelis living abroad and for all future Israeli team sporting events in Europe, including enhancing cooperation with local authorities, an Israeli official told CNN.
Following the Amsterdam incident, some people in France have called for next week’s match between the French and Israeli national soccer teams to be relocated.
This story and headline have been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Matthew Chance, Kareem Khadder, Niamh Kennedy and Lauren Izso contributed to this report.
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