BERLIN, Germany — Local pro-Palestinians attacked a group of Israeli Maccabi football fans Thursday night in Amsterdam in the latest antisemitic attack. Israeli officials said 10 people were injured in the attack that left the European Jewish community in shock on the eve of the Nazi ‘Kristallnacht’ 86th anniversary.
Why it matters
Israel will redefine security protocols for its citizens and Jewish communities abroad, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a situation meeting in Jerusalem on Friday.
The attacks were defined as “Jew-hatred related” and showed clear elements of a premeditated ‘modus operandi,’ according to Dutch officials.
Enforcement authorities in Holland were overwhelmed and lacked the capacities for acting preemptively despite previous warnings sent from Jerusalem to its security agencies.
Antisemitism in Europe is rising
Different factors had created a "perfect storm" in the Dutch capital, showing hostilities that are sharply rising in Europe since the October 7th massacre.
“The Jewish community is shocked but it doesn't come as a surprise for us. We see that for a long time jews have been harassed and intimidated. It is a tendency that we are seeing in all Europe,” Ronnie Eisenmann, chairman of the Center for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI, told the Mideast Journal.
Eisenmann, who also works as a lawyer, detailed that for the past year several efforts were made to prevent violence against Jews in Holland and shed light on the dangers of rising antisemitism to local authorities.
“We warned the Mayor [Femke Halsema] of the fact that we have seen in the streets for over a year so-called very anti-zionist and very harsh, hostile demonstrations which we perceived as antisemitic,” he added.
Antisemitism is ‘more dangerous’ than ever
The recent antisemitic attack that left at least five Israelis in hospitals had a distinctive element in comparison with the previous ones: It was more dangerous and above all, more sophisticated, according to local government officials.
“What is really standing out is that authorities have proof it was very well organized, also with a big role by Dutch Muslim taxi drivers who already on Wednesday intimidated Israeli supporters,” Mr. Eisenmann said.
“My message to the Jewish community in Holland is to keep safe and to be strong and that we need to fight for our right to live and exist here in the Netherlands, and everywhere in Europe,” he concluded.
Additional security measures were taken for the three days in Amsterdam, including a ban on protests and special authorizations for the local police.
Damian Pachter is an Argentine-Israeli journalist based in Berlin. He worked as Chief World editor for Israel Hayom daily and special correspondent for Haaretz newspaper before that. He also anchored the Spanish spoken TV show Ñews24 on i24NEWS and served as its senior editor. Previously, Pachter collaborated with The Associated Press in Buenos Aires, Argentina.