Supporters of Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team faced multiple acts of organized violence on the streets of Amsterdam following Thursday’s 5-0 loss to AFC Ajax.
Videos on social media showed groups of masked assailants attacking some of the estimated 3,000 Maccabi fans who attended the Europa League match, with some victims describing the incidents as coordinated ambushes.
Other images circulating online depicted the aggressors, identified as being primarily Muslim expatriates, carrying Palestinian flags and disseminating antisemitic rhetoric during the altercations.
A 30-year-old Jewish individual who said he was intentionally struck by a car and threatened with a knife by one of the hooligans told Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper the experience reminded him of his recent military deployment in Gaza.
After positioning 600 police officers to secure the soccer enthusiast’s hotels, local law enforcement authorities revealed at least 10 Israelis required medical care and 57 suspects had been arrested by the following morning.
Israel’s prime minister’s office issued a statement urging Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof "to act firmly and quickly against the rioters and ensure the safety of our citizens," while also confirming that two passenger aircraft would be dispatched to evacuate the tourists.
Schoof responded to request in a post on X, assuring "the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted."
Israeli media indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a situational assessment with the country’s foreign minister in response to the rampage.
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