Pogrom in Amsterdam: A mob of anti-Semites attacked Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, shouting "Free Palestine"

Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were victims of an attack in the streets of Amsterdam, Netherlands, following their club's UEFA Europa League group stage match against Ajax.

A violent mob of hooded anti-Semites shouted "Free Palestine" while brutally attacking dozens of defenseless Israeli fans.

Some of the attackers were carrying Palestinian flags, according to local and Hebrew media reports. Passports of the attacked Israelis were stolen by the mob.

Israel's Foreign Ministry, citing data from Dutch authorities, reported that 10 Israelis were injured during the attacks. The severity of the injuries remains unknown. 

Three Israelis were also reported missing, according to Israeli media. Further details on these cases are not yet available.

Local police said they had made 62 arrests in incidents around the stadium, but gave no further details, AFP quoted local news agency ANP as saying.

Calls for action and Israeli airplanes to return home

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office reported that the Israeli leader requested that two planes be sent to Amsterdam to bring back Israelis still in the city.

Netanyahu also called on Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and local security forces "to act decisively and swiftly against the rioters, and to ensure the wellbeing of our citizens."

The Israeli Foreign Ministry advised its citizens in the Netherlands not to leave their hotels. The National Security Council also issued a similar warning, asking Israelis not to display any Israeli or Jewish symbols in public.

Main reactions

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the "shocking images" of violence were reminiscent of the October 7 attacks.

Meanwhile, Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, called the violent attack "a pogrom." "These are the true faces of the supporters of the radical terrorism we are fighting. The western world needs to wake up now!!" he said.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett claimed that the attack appeared to be "a PLANNED and ORGANIZED POGROM.”

Deborah Lipstadt, Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism, also expressed herself in similar terms: "Horrified by the attacks tonight in Amsterdam, which are terribly reminiscent of a classic pogrom." She also called on the Dutch government to investigate the attack and the law enforcement response.

"In terrible historical irony, this is happening two days before the grim anniversary of Reichspogromnacht in 1938, when Nazi-sanctioned and led pogroms against Jews erupted across the German Reich."

"We have become the Gaza of Europe," asserted Geert Wilders MP, leader of the Party for Freedom. "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."