‘Possible hostage situation’ after attacks on Israelis in Amsterdam

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Amsterdam police said there are “no more missing persons in connection” with a violent attack on Israelis following a soccer match on Thursday night.

Fans of the sport gathered at the city’s Johan Cruyff Arena to watch the game between Amsterdam’s Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv. In a news release, the City of Amsterdam said that Maccabi supporters were attacked in several locations and the “police had to intervene” in order to “protect Israeli supporters and escort them to hotels.”

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“So far, it is known that five people have been taken to the hospital and 62 individuals have been arrested,” Amsterdam police unit, Politie Eenheid Amsterdam, wrote in a post on X on Friday just before 4 a.m. ET.

In an initial statement, police said they were “aware of reports of a possible hostage situation.” However, later in a post on X, translated to English, they said after an investigation, there were no missing persons.

Israeli media also reported that missing Maccabi fans had been accounted for, according to the Jerusalem Post and Ynet.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the “horrific antisemitic scenes coming out of Amsterdam” in a post on X.

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Videos circulating online showed the brutality and widespread nature of the attacks. Attackers could be seen dragging, grabbing and kicking people while on the ground.

In a series of videos shared on Instagram by pro-Palestinian groups, anti-Israel protesters can be seen walking the streets with Palestinian flags draped across their backs, while they chant. In the same post, videos also show police trying to disperse the crowds.

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‘Antisemitic, hateful rioters’: How events unfolded

There have been ongoing tensions in The Netherlands in regards to Israel’s actions since the outbreak of war after October 7. A demonstration planned by anti-Israel protesters was set to take place near the football stadium in Amsterdam on Thursday evening, but it was banned by authorities, per the Associated Press.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema described a chaotic scene in which young people scoured the city for Israeli fans and beat them before getting away in an effort to avoid police, AP reported.

Some Israelis told the publication that rocks were thrown at them. A 24-year-old Israeli man, Adi Reuben, told the BBC that people shouted “Jewish, Jewish, IDF, IDF” and “Palestine” at him as he was beaten.

“They were kicking me on the floor for about a minute, then they walked off, they weren’t afraid of anything,” he said, adding that his face was covered in blood and his nose was broken.

“Antisemitic, hateful rioters and criminals yesterday and last night have attacked Jewish visitors visiting our city,” Halsema said at a press conference on Friday, according to the BBC.

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Halsema said there would be security measures in place following the attacks on Thursday night, Bloomberg reported. These measures included preventive frisking, a ban on face-covering clothing and a temporary prohibition of demonstrations across the city, per the publication.

‘Don’t look the other way’: Canadians react

Canadians reacted to the violence against Israelis and Jews in Amsterdam on Friday, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau called the attacks “horrifying” and a “dark moment for our world” in a post on X.

“My heart goes out to the victims, and the entire Jewish community today. Canada condemns this disgusting antisemitism.”

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called the reports coming out of Amsterdam “abhorrent.”

“Jews are being hunted in Europe days before the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Never again is now,” he wrote on X. Kristallnacht, also called the Night of Broken Glass, occurred on Nov. 9, 1938, when Germany’s Nazi Party destroyed and vandalized Jewish businesses, synagogues and homes.

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MP Melissa Lantsman pointed out that the violence in the Dutch capital “is what ‘globalize the intifada’ looks like.”

“Don’t look the other way,” she wrote on X. “Watch the footage and stand up against this lawless mob there and everywhere.”

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President-CEO Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish advocacy group dedicated to Holocaust education, called the attacks a “modern day pogrom.”

“This terrifying display is but a stones throw from the vile scenes of Jew hatred we’ve witnessed here at home. Whether in Amsterdam, Toronto or Montreal, when the extremist mobs scream they want to ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ they mean it,” he said.

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U.S. President Joe Biden said the American government has been in touch with Israeli and Dutch officials in a post on X on Friday afternoon. He called the attacks “despicable.”

“We must relentlessly fight antisemitism, wherever it emerges,” he wrote.

Israelis urged not to go in the streets, wear Jewish symbols

Israeli publication Arutz Sheva reported that Israelis in Amsterdam have been told by the National Security Council (NSC) not to leave their hotel rooms, to stay off the streets and not to wear any Israeli or Jewish symbols. They also told Israelis to book flights back to Israel as soon as possible.

Another match between the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team is scheduled Friday night in Bologna, Italy. The NSC reportedly told Israelis not to attend, per the Times of Israel, citing the potential for a copycat attack.

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