Amsterdam mayor couldn’t reach PM during riots; City wanted to ban Ajax-Maccabi match
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema sent an extensive breakdown to City Council members about the violent events surrounding the match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv last Thursday. She revealed that she was unable to reach Prime Minister Dick Schoof when trying to contact him at 3 a.m. regarding the violence, and the Israeli politicians who wanted to travel to the Netherlands due to the riots, and that city authorities considered banning the match due to incidents preceding it.
The letter was sent in advance of an emergency debate about the rioting after the match which city officials believe to be fueled by hatred for Jews and Israelis, as well as offensive chants and acts of vandalism by Maccabi supporters before the match. During the assaults after the match, which a total of 62 people were arrested, and as many as 35 people were injured, including five who were briefly hospitalized.
Halsema said that ten of the 62 people arrested during the riots were from Israel and 49 others live in the Netherlands. Several others were arrested during the ensuing investigation, separate from additional criminal acts alleged over the weekend in which victims alleged being targeted because they were thought to be Jewish or Israeli.
“What happened in recent days is the result of a toxic cocktail of anti-Semitism, hooliganism, and anger about the war in Palestine and Israel and other countries in the Middle East,” Halsema wrote in the letter, which was also signed by Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla and chief prosecutor René de Beukelaer.
On Thursday morning, the Amsterdam authorities discussed the possibility of banning the match because there had been several incidents the evening and night before, Halsema wrote. On Wednesday, there were social media posts expressing aggression and threats against Maccabi supporters. Activists spray-painted pro-Palestinian graffiti at the Ajax stadium.
Later, Maccabi fans pulled a Palestine flag off a facade in the city center. Some of this group also vandalized several taxis, resulting in taxi drivers urging each other online to mobilize, Halsema wrote.
On Thursday morning, the authorities were mainly concerned about aggressive Maccabi supporters and the taxi drivers’ reaction. They discussed banning the match, but decided against it, partly because there wasn’t sufficient legal substantiation, and partly due to feared unrest from the large numbers of supporters already in the city.
There were multiple violent incidents around the match. Israelis were chased and assaulted by small groups of rioters in various places in the city. Anti-Semitic insults can be heard in videos of the incidents. There is also footage of Maccabi supporters instigating violence against Amsterdam locals. The police gathered a large group of Israeli supporters and took them to their hotel by bus, for their protection.
Footage of the riots quickly gained international attention. During the early hours of Friday morning, Halsema contacted the Israeli ambassador and was informed that members of the Israeli government wanted to come to the Netherlands.
The mayor then tried to contact Prime Minister Dick Schoof, but couldn’t get hold of him. This happened around 3:00 a.m. So she called Justice Minister David van Weel instead. The Prime Minister was eventually reached at around 5:30 a.m.
The police arrested a total of 62 people around the match. 49 of them live in the Netherlands, and 10 live in Israel. Four people are still in custody. They are 16, 17, 18, and 26 years old. As far as is known, the police arrested six more people for the riots in the days that followed.
In the coming days, the police will share blurred images of suspected rioters and urge them to turn themselves in. If that doesn’t work, recognizable images will be shared.
The weekend was also filled with unrest. The police identified multiple anti-Semitic incidents in the city and received signals of calls to riot shared online. On Monday, the riot police had to intervene in Nieuw-West, where a tram caught fire. A witness reported that many “young people on scooters” were setting off “very heavy fireworks.”
The Amsterdam city council will debate the riots and the unrest in the days that followed on Tuesday from noon. A parliamentary debate will happen on Wednesday.
