Violence broke out after a soccer match in Amsterdam

3 days ago

NPR

Violence after a soccer game in Amsterdam shocks both Dutch and Israeli authorities.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

There's increased security in Amsterdam in the aftermath of violence that broke out after a soccer match between Israeli and Dutch teams Thursday night. Reporter Teri Schultz joins us from Amsterdam. Teri, thanks for being with us.

TERI SCHULTZ: Hi, Scott.

SIMON: Amsterdam's mayor called Thursday a dark night. What is it like there now?

SCHULTZ: Well, it's calm on the outside, but there's still plenty of tension under the surface. Right now, I'm outside the Amsterdam Modern Orthodox Synagogue, and the city said it was putting extra security in place around locations like this, which they feared could be targets. They're determined to prevent more incidents like were seen overnight Thursday, where supporters of the Israeli soccer team were - in the words of Dutch authorities themselves - hunted down and brutally beaten for being Jewish. All demonstrations have been banned in Amsterdam through the weekend, and there are reports police are conducting home searches of people suspected in taking part in the attacks. The Israeli fans were given security and special transport to the airport Friday, and extra flights were added to get them back to Tel Aviv quickly.

SIMON: Members of the Dutch government and even the king, I gather, have spoken out. What have they said?

SCHULTZ: That's right. There's been a lot of outrage from abroad and domestically. Here's Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.

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PRIME MINISTER DICK SCHOOF: It's a terrible antisemitic attack, and we will not tolerate. And we will prosecute perpetrators. And I'm deeply ashamed that it would happen in the Netherlands in 2024.

SIMON: And, of course, there's ugly history here, isn't there?

SCHULTZ: That's right. Israeli Prime - Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Dutch king, Willem-Alexander, called him Friday and said, quote, "we failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II. And last night, we failed again." That's referring to the fact, as you mentioned, that the Netherlands is one of the countries which had the highest percentage of its Jewish population - over 70% - killed during the Holocaust. And beyond that, Scott, tonight will be the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when Nazis and their supporters rampaged through Jewish synagogues and businesses and arrested tens of thousands of Jews. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema even referred to this tragic history in a press conference about the soccer incident.

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FEMKE HALSEMA: (Speaking Dutch).

SCHULTZ: "The survivors of the Holocaust, their children and grandchildren," she said, "have admirably rebuilt their own communities after the war and made their city - which had failed them terribly during the war - flourish again." Halsema says she's ashamed of her city and furious.

SIMON: Teri, Dutch officials have confirmed reports that some Israeli soccer fans ripped up a Palestinian flag...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

SIMON: ...And shouted praise - sometimes using graphic language - for the destruction of Gaza. Is that being discussed?

SCHULTZ: Well, it is a bit. On the authorities' side, they've really focused on condemning the antisemitic attacks for now. But on social media, and when talking to people in the streets, as I have, they also criticize the actions of the Israeli fans and soccer hooligans. What's seen as this imbalanced response is being called out by pro-Palestinian activists like Nadia Slimi, a 28-year-old woman who was present Thursday night at a planned protest that was kept away from the soccer stadium.

NADIA SLIMI: The way that they treat us - the Palestinian protesters - with so much violence, and we do not get escorts to our houses. We get escorts to jail, or we get escorts to far outside of the city.

SCHULTZ: Slimi told us she doesn't feel safe in Amsterdam, and she's urging her parents to stay at home for fear they'll be attacked. So, as I said at the beginning, on the surface, things are calm here. But underneath, there's a lot of fear and anger on all sides.

SIMON: Reporter Teri Schultz in Amsterdam. Teri, thanks so much for being with us.

SCHULTZ: You're welcome.

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