Netanyahu decries Amsterdam pogrom ahead of 86th Kristallnacht anniversary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed on Friday that the 86th anniversary of the Nazi-perpetrated Kristallnacht atrocities was “marked on the streets of Amsterdam” after the soccer game between the Dutch team Ajax and the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv. 

“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,” Netanyahu said referring to the Nazi pogrom on November 9, 1938, which marked the beginning of the Holocaust of six million Jews.

However, the prime minister emphasized the Jewish people now have a homeland and the capability to defend themselves. 

“There is only one difference: The State of the Jews has arisen. We need to deal with it,” Netanyahu said. 

At least 10 Israeli soccer fans were injured on Thursday evening in Amsterdam after being attacked by Arab and Muslim gangs. There were also initial reports of three Israelis being kidnapped by anti-Israel extremists, but eventually, all were safely found.

The Dutch government and the European Union strongly condemned the unprecedented antisemitic attack in Amsterdam. The strongest European reaction came from the right-wing Dutch leader Geert Wilders. 

“Pogrom in the streets of Amsterdam. We have become the Gaza of Europe. Muslims with Palestinian flags hunting down Jews. I will NOT accept that. NEVER. The authorities will be held accountable for their failure to protect the Israeli citizens. Never again,” Wilders vowed.

U.S. President Joe Biden also condemned the antisemitic attacks, which he described as “despicable and echo dark moments in history when Jews were persecuted.”

“We’ve been in touch with Israeli and Dutch officials and appreciate Dutch authorities’ commitment to holding the perpetrators accountable,” Biden wrote on 𝕏. “We must relentlessly fight antisemitism, wherever it emerges.”

Many Israeli soccer fans have been critical of the Dutch police and its conduct during the antisemitic riots in Amsterdam. 

"The Dutch police sold us so that the Arabs would lynch us," one injured Israeli soccer fan told the journalist Raz Amir.

Following the attack, Israel issued new security recommendations for Israelis and Jews in the Netherlands. 

“Avoid movements in the street and lock yourself in hotel rooms. Showing Israeli and Jewish symbols must be avoided,” the Israeli National Security Council said in an official statement. 

The Dutch paper De Telegraaf reported on Friday that the large-scale attack on Israelis and Jews in Amsterdam was pre-planned and coordinated in a Telegram group, where participants called for a "Jew hunt.”

The decision to attack the Israeli and Jewish soccer fans was announced in advance, which enabled anti-Israel extremists outside the city to arrive in Amsterdam. 

Following the attack, the Dutch government has reportedly decided to investigate whether Dutch authorities had ignored warnings from the Jewish state concerning the high likelihood of violence and riots following the soccer game. 

“An investigation is still being conducted on possible warning signs from Israel,” Justice Minister David van Weel announced in an official letter to the Dutch Parliament on Friday. 

“The Public Prosecution Service has stated that it aims to apply fast-track justice as much as possible,” van Weel continued, emphasizing “the absolute priority” to identify all individuals who participated in the antisemitic attack on the Israeli soccer fans.