Amsterdam mayor denounces use of 'pogrom' as propaganda
Police escort Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to the metro station leading the Ajax stadium, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched near the stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 7, 2024. (AP)
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has stated that she will no longer use the term "pogrom" when discussing the violence surrounding the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv football match earlier this month, explaining that the word has been politicized and turned into propaganda.
In an interview for Nieuwsuur on Sunday evening, Halsema admitted that she should have highlighted the disruptions caused by Maccabi supporters before and after the Europa League game in Amsterdam. It was later revealed that 10 Maccabi fans were arrested that evening, with several others listed as wanted by the police.
“What I wanted to emphasize was the sadness and fear experienced by Jewish Amsterdammers,” Halsema said. “But I have to say that in the following days, I saw how the word pogrom became politicized, to the level of propaganda.
“The Israeli government spoke of a ‘Palestinian pogrom on the streets of Amsterdam’ and in The Hague the words were used to discriminate against Moroccan Amsterdammers, Muslims. That is not what I meant or what I wanted.”
The big picture
During a press conference on Friday, November 8, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema acknowledged that she could understand how the “hit-and-run” attacks could “bring back memories of pogroms,” a statement she reiterated during a city hall debate the following Tuesday.
She explained that the press conference, held the Friday after the match, was organized under significant national and international pressure.
Since then, a more detailed picture of the events leading up to and following the football match has emerged, with new information shedding light on the involvement of Israeli authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasted no time responding to the events, labeling them an “extremely violent incident” against Israelis in Amsterdam.
Political focus on integration amid tensions
Ahead of last week’s parliamentary debate on the incident, the Israeli Minister for the Diaspora, Amichai Chikli, sent a 27-page special report to The Hague, offering his own analysis of the situation. The report, which claimed to highlight links between Dutch organizations and Hamas, was then used by the far-right Christian SGP party to propose a motion calling for the inclusion of all Dutch organizations deemed pro-Hamas by "Israel" on a "terrorism sanctions list."
The Telegraaf newspaper quoted Chikli as saying, “The Dutch authorities should take legal and economic measures against the criminals, and as Geert Wilders suggests, deport those involved.”
The debate also revolved around the issue of “integration", with calls to strip dual nationals guilty of "anti-Semitism" and statements about the “failed integration” of second-generation Moroccan immigrants. This issue almost led to the collapse of the government last week.
Mayor Halsema expressed her frustration with the focus on “integration” in The Hague, questioning, “Why is this necessary, and what is it based on?” She emphasized that it felt as if people were being made to justify themselves, akin to the aftermath of 9/11. “But we are talking here about individuals who have behaved extremely badly.”
She criticized the statements made in The Hague, noting they were only deepening divisions in Amsterdam. “I would say to The Hague, go and do your jobs and stop fighting, whatever your political background,” Halsema concluded.
This comes several days after clashes broke out across the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, after Israeli hooligans physically assaulted citizens, took down Palestinian flags displayed on private property, and chanted provocative slogans inciting violence against Arabs and Palestinians.
Similar clashes occurred days later in France during a football match between the French and Israeli teams, leading to clashes between the fans.
Israelis increasingly 'unwelcome' in Europe, signaling 8th front
Israeli media reported, on Sunday, a new phenomenon affecting Israelis, where they are increasingly "unwelcome in Europe."
Channel 12 News stated that more Israelis in Europe are booking hotels, only to later receive a statement from the hotel indicating that they are not welcome because people across Europe are beginning to hold Israelis accountable for the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The channel highlighted a case in Italy, where a hotel in the north of the country refused a booking made by several Israelis. Those who booked online received the following message: "Good morning, we inform you that Israelis, being responsible for genocide, are not welcome as guests in our hotel. If you wish to cancel your booking, we will gladly do so and offer you a free cancellation."
This suggests the emergence of an "eighth front" that "Israel" now faces, in addition to its existing seven fronts: "the international front and the risk to Israelis abroad," according to Israeli media.
Elsewhere, the media highlighted that Israelis are increasingly ostracized and unwelcome, amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Amsterdam events anti-Zionist not antisemitic: Israeli think tank head
The director of an Israeli think tank described the demonstrations in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, as anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic.
Dr. Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu, director of the Israel-Europe Relations Program at the Israeli think tank, Mitvim and a lecturer at Hebrew University’s European Forum and Tel Aviv University’s European Union Studies Program, stated in an interview that the demonstrators opposing Israeli fans were not targeting Jews but Israelis.
She emphasized that the actions were primarily motivated by anti-Zionism or anti-"Israel" sentiment.
While clarifying that there “is no justification for violence,” the pro-Palestinians "specifically sought revenge on the one who tore up the Palestinian flags and called for the death of the Arabs. The actions of those in Amsterdam are the result of anti-Israeli sentiment. There is a very sharp new anti-Semitism, but in Amsterdam, it was mainly anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist."
Sion-Tzidkiyahu said that "a month into the war, the number of civilian casualties in Gaza caused a very large anti-Israeli wave. It is very easy to dismiss everything with the word 'anti-Semitism'."
The professor cautioned that as long as the Israeli occupation and its Western allies continue to equate opposition to "Israel" and its war crimes with anti-Semitism, Tel Aviv risks fueling anti-Semitism in Europe, which stems from anti-"Israel" and anti-Zionist sentiment.
She further stressed that Israelis must understand that the Israeli atrocities in Gaza will endanger European Jews and the continuation of Jewish life in Europe "due to the rise of anti-Semitic attacks against them."