Revealed: How Pro-Palestinian mob organised via WhatsApp to ‘Hunt Jews’ across Amsterdam

From the Telegraph,  Dutch News and the NL Times

On Thursday night, a terrible echo of the “Jew hunts” that took place during the German occupation played out just a few hundred yards from Anne Frank’s House as Israeli football fans were pursued through the streets and attacked.

The parallels were too obvious to ignore, prompting the Dutch king to say his country had failed Jewish people just as it did during the Second World War.

A pro-Palestinian demonstration had coincided with a European football match between the Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Israeli side, and Ajax, the local team whose fans refer to themselves as the “Super Jews”. The result was as shaming as it was foreseeable. (Ajax are comparable to Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) in North London; well supported by the Jewish community, although they also support other London teams, Arsenal and West Ham being two) 

The violence against Israelis in Amsterdam on Thursday night was carried out by youngsters on mopeds who “criss-crossed the city looking for football club Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters,” city mayor Femke Halsema told a press conference on Friday morning. “It was hit and run.” Slight understatement there. 

The mayor said that Maccabi supporters were not known to be violent and in football terms, the match was not considered high risk. The counter-terrorism unit NCTV was unaware of any concrete threats, she said but said action would be needed to ensure there was no trouble, in particular given the combination of football and commemorations for Kristallnacht. In total, 800 police officers were on duty and six riot police squads, an “extraordinary” number by Amsterdam standards, she said.

The investigation into what happened is ongoing, city public prosecutor René de Beukelaer told the press conference. The investigation, he said, would focus on anti-Semitism as a motive for the violence. “We are now trying to identify the perpetrators caught on film to arrest them. We are investigating whether there links between them… was it organised?” Er, yes:read below. 

Videos posted on social media showed fans of the two teams being punched, kicked and humiliated as pro-Palestinian marchers shouted anti-Semitic slurs at them.

Now it has emerged that the attacks on the Jewish football fans were planned in advance and co-ordinated using WhatsApp and Telegram.

The Telegraph has seen messages from a group chat called Buurthuis, a Dutch word for a type of community centre, which were posted on Wednesday, the day before the match.

One message says: “Tomorrow after the game, at night, part 2 of the Jew Hunt. Tomorrow we work them.”

Another member of the group says: “Who can sort fireworks?” adding, “We need a lot of fireworks”. Participants refer to “cancer dogs”, a particularly vile insult in the Netherlands.

The previous day had some skirmishes, which the Jewish fans escaped by going into a local casino. One of the messages sent by the pro-Palestinians said: “They won’t go to the casino any more.”

One message referred to the 300 Maccabi fans as Israeli Zionists. They considered it a way to show they “are not afraid” by arriving as “warriors” supported in large groups. The messages were seen by tens of thousands of people, noted RTL Nieuws. Prior to the match, images were shared of people attacking someone in Amsterdam with the text, “Just chased away six Zionists between the two of us, free Palestine.” The message continued, “People are ready today!” alongside a fist clad in a special motorcycle glove with hardened plastic over the knuckles.

There were further appeals shortly after the Ajax-Maccabi match showing people gathered to fight in Dam Square and Central Station. Anyone perceived to be a Maccabi fan became a target of attackers, with some victims forced to show their passports, while others were beaten. “This is not Gaza. This is Amsterdam! We fucked you and your family today.”

Police were given stop-and-search powers within areas deemed a security risk and riot police patrolled the streets. Yet, they failed to prevent violence that has attracted condemnations from around the world.

This morning Geert Wilders asked the Dutch Minister of Justice if there was any truth in the claim that advance intelligence of the attacks was passed to The Dutch Security forces by their Israeli counterparts but was not acted upon, or not acted upon in time. 

Ben Myers, a British-Israeli living in Amsterdam, said injured football fans were rushed to safe houses by a group of Israeli men and women who mobilised on WhatsApp groups. Mr Myers, who helped coordinate the rapid response, said the Jewish community had been failed by the Dutch police.

He added: “It really was a testament to the power of the women, organising a mini Dunkirk and getting Israelis to safety. There were definitely people being pushed into canals. They must have known it was going to kick off. One of the biggest gripes was the lack of police action. A lot of Israelis were saying they didn’t see police for hours. Even when they did, they were driving nonchalantly by. It was definitely a failure by the Dutch police to protect the football fans.”

Amit Amira, a Maccabi fan, said: “Three people approached me on the street and asked where I was from. I said, ‘Greece.’ One of them grabbed my hand and told me to show my ID. I pushed him away and went into the casino. We stood at the entrance to the casino, and no one wanted to help us. They told us, ‘Why did you come here?’ In the end, an Arab Israeli helped us. He said, ‘No one will mess with you. You’re with me.’ He ordered two taxis for us, and we escaped.”

Amsterdam was known as the Jerusalem of the West before the war because of its thriving Jewish population, many of whom supported Ajax, whose stadium was close to the Jewish quarter. Giant Israeli flags are a common sight at Ajax home games.

Today, Amsterdam also has a large Arab population, including more than 77,000 Moroccans who live in the Dutch capital.

In the aftermath of the attacks, many shaken and traumatised Maccabi fans said they were the victim of what some said were pre-planned attacks that could have ended in fatalities as they sought to leave the Netherlands on the first available flight. Others said they would not return to Amsterdam and were even scared to take taxis to the airport for fear of being attacked by drivers, some of whom apparently took part in the clashes.

While Amsterdam authorities held a press conference about the violence on Friday afternoon, the Palestinian government called on the Netherlands “to safeguard Palestinians and Arabs” in the country “from colonists and Israeli soldiers who traveled to the country to spread their racist ideology.” The report did not make clear why the ministry specifically mentioned “soldiers,” although nearly all Israeli adults are required to serve in the military for nearly three years.