Dutch Jewish organization: Israeli mobs responsible for Amsterdam riots

A Dutch Jewish organization official held fans of the Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv responsible for the riots that took place on Thursday in the Dutch capital, before and after the team’s match against its rival Ajax Amsterdam in the European League.

According to the organization board member Anna Joseph, in which she said that her experience in the Netherlands proved that Palestinians and Arabs aren’t anti-Semitic.

After the match, which ended with a score of 5-0 in favor of Ajax, tensions erupted due to racist and offensive chants by the Israeli team’s fans against Palestine and Arabs, chaos, vandalism, assault and tearing up of the Palestinian flag, and provocation of Dutch taxi drivers of Arab origin.

Dutch police arrested 57 Arabs after the Israeli Foreign Ministry claimed in a statement that 10 Israelis were injured and contact with two was lost.

Meanwhile, scenes circulating on social media platforms showed fans of the Israeli club bragging about killing children in Gaza, chanting, “There is no school in Gaza because there are no more children”.

Joseph described her organization, as “the first Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the country,” noting that Israeli fans were responsible for the events that occurred before and after the game on Thursday.

Joseph commented on the accusation of “anti-Semitism” launched by Dutch media and government officials against people who were offended by Israelis, and denounced it.

She said, “Israel and Judaism are two different concepts… Israel is a country with many different religions and ethnicities, while Judaism is a religion, and presenting them in the same way puts Jews and those who defend Palestinian rights at risk”.

In the details, she said, “Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans came to Amsterdam, damaged personal property on buildings, took down the Palestinian flag and burned it in the square, beat a taxi driver, and chanted racist songs supporting the genocide in Gaza on public transportation”.

“The community, Muslims and other minorities didn’t feel safe, and despite informing the government, no action was taken against the violence of the Israeli fans,” she explained.

Joseph criticized the Dutch government for remaining silent about the violence of the Israelis, and in return, “the government described all forms of violence against the Israelis as anti-Semitism and likened it to a massacre, and it’s not a massacre”.

The organization’s official pointed out the delay in the Dutch police intervention, saying, “we don’t think the police intervened appropriately”.

“The police should have stopped the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans when they were committing violence at the beginning of the week before the match, but we saw the escalation at the end of the week,” she explained, asking in disapproval, “Where were the police then?”

In her statement, Anna Joseph criticized the Dutch authorities for detaining Palestinian and Arab fans instead of violent Israelis, stressing that the police didn’t arrest any Israelis, and many people feel angry because they see the government’s practices as based on double standards.

Joseph rejected allegations that the Jewish community doesn’t feel safe in the Netherlands as not reflecting the truth.

She cited this by saying, “Our organization hasn’t received any threatening letters, no one is afraid to go out, and none of us in the Netherlands has been subjected to an anti-Semitic incident by Palestinians or Arabs”.

She stressed that Muslims and their supporters in the Netherlands don’t participate in anti-Semitic activities.

Speaking about her experience in the European country, Joseph said, “In the Netherlands, anti-Semitism usually comes from white Dutch people, and the claim that it comes from Palestinians is a lie,” stressing that she always receives a warm welcome from Palestinian protest organizers and others.

She said that last year, one of her friends was the target of an anti-Semitic incident, but by two white Dutch men.

She revealed that the media reflects events differently, stressing that there is an attempt to portray everyone who criticizes Israel as anti-Semitic.

“This isn’t Jewish propaganda, but Zionist propaganda, because Zionism supports Israel,” Joseph added.

Going beyond the Netherlands, Joseph noted that what is happening in Germany now is a new example, where they are trying to pass laws stating that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic.

She considered it an attempt to silence people by showing that it’s not only about the rights movements in that country, but also pressure on Jews who don’t agree with them.

Regarding the confusion between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism, Joseph said, “This confusion puts us all at risk, as Palestinian rights movements are accused of anti-Semitism when they fight for their rights”.

She stressed that this confusion shows that the violence practiced by Israel poses a threat to the world.

When Israel becomes more violent, “we will witness an increase in hate crimes against Jews in the world… We’ve seen this now when Israel occupied Gaza and committed massacres there”.

Regarding the Dutch government’s support for Israel, she said, “If it wants to protect Jews, it must stop its complicity with Israel in the genocide its committing in Gaza”.

She added, “When the Dutch government says that Israel and the Jews are the same thing, this puts the Jews at risk, and our desire in the organization is for the genocide to stop, and for the Dutch government to stop equating Judaism with Zionism”.

Anna Joseph concluded by pointing out that there were “Jews who opposed the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, this too is being erased from history, and we say all over the world that we are against Israel and its actions”.