Counterterror office had concerns over Kristallnacht event, Ajax-Maccabi match before riots

The national counterterrorism office (NCTV) “requested attention” from local authorities in Amsterdam to the possible consequences of the football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, which coincided with the commemoration of Kristallnacht, a wide-scale assault on Jews in Nazi Germany a year before World War II started. Minister David van Weel (Justice and Security) wrote in a letter to the lower house of Dutch parliament about the violence in the capital against fans of the Israeli club after the match.

Five people were hospitalized, and 30 others suffered minor injuries, police said. A total of 62 people were arrested in the immediate aftermath, and ten of them were still in custody Friday afternoon.

Mayor Femke Halsema stated the day before that she had asked the NCTV for an assessment of the threat situation precisely because of the coincidence of the two events, and that NCTV had replied that there had been “no concrete threat." Van Weel confirmed the latter.

"The NCTV confirmed again that there were no concrete threats regarding the supporters' group, the players, or the match. They did ask us to take measures to ensure that it proceeded as calmly as possible, which we did," Halsema stated during a press conference on Friday.

However, the second highest threat level has been in effect throughout the country for some time now, which means that the chance of an attack is considered real.

Van Weel is currently still investigating “possible signals” about warnings from Israel that would have been overlooked or ignored. Prime Minister Dick Schoof also said he wanted to discuss this with NCTV and the intelligence services before commenting.

'No concrete threat'

Based on his own role in security and surveillance, Schoof said that NCTV is mainly concerned with the safety of the dignitaries attending the commemoration. “A consultation with the intelligence services and the police has revealed that there is no specific threat to the commemoration or the safety of the participants.

According to Van Weel, the NCTV endorsed the measures taken by the local triangle (mayor, police, and public prosecutor's office) to ensure that the commemoration went smoothly. However, Van Weel pointed out that “the competent authority” could also take measures “as part of its responsibility for public order." In this context, NCTV also addressed the coincidence with the tense football match.

The minister emphasized that there will be an investigation into the attacks on Israeli football fans, the Volkskrant wrote. “It is important that we learn how this horrible night could have happened and that we prevent something like this from ever happening again in the Netherlands," Van Weel said. On Friday evening, Van Weel and the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar spoke to the press at Schiphol.

The minister confirmed yesterday that the attacks on Thursday were anti-Semitic in nature, the Volkskrant reported. "Everything points to the fact that people were attacked and threatened yesterday because of their origin, their religion and their Jewish background”, the minister said on Friday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Schoof met with representatives of the Jewish community in Amsterdam on Friday evening. They discussed “the impact that the events of last night had on them," reported a spokesperson for the Prime Minister. It was a closed meeting “so that they can talk to each other in peace.”