Israel rushes to evacuate hundreds of people after antisemitic attack in Amsterdam

The Israeli government rushed to evacuate hundreds of people on Friday after a swath of antisemitic riots in Amsterdam, according to multiple reports.

A number of Israelis were in Amsterdam to attend a soccer game, but the night quickly turned violent as rioters physically assaulted individuals in what Dutch police described as an antisemitic attack, according to reports. Israel sent two commercial planes to the country on Friday to collect hundreds of Israelis in a bid to get them out of the country.

“This is a terrible moment for our city. … I am very ashamed of the behavior that was shown last night,” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said of the incident, according to The Associated Press.

Five Israelis who were injured during the incident have now been released from the hospital, according to reports. Approximately 20 to 30 other individuals suffered minor injuries.

Police said that a total of 63 people were arrested for their role in the attack, 10 of whom remain in custody, according to reports.

“Tensions” were high running into Thursday night, police said. The day prior, some fans of Maccabi — an Israeli soccer team — had reportedly posted anti-Arab content to social media, according to reports. The soccer game itself was relatively calm, but chaos broke out after it ended.

Hundreds of Maccabi fans “were ambushed and attacked” by those individuals, the Israeli Embassy in the U.S. said on Friday. Enhanced security measures were in place to be ready for such a scenario.

There are multiple accounts and social media posts of the incident. In one video, a man is depicted being kicked by another man shouting “Free Palestine… for the children, motherfucker,” according to CNN. Another video shows a mob of men chasing after other men while police sirens wailed in the background, per BBC.

Maccabi supporters were “attacked, abused, and pelted with fireworks,” Halsema said on Friday. One individual told BBC that over 10 men approached him, demanded to know if he was Jewish, and when he confirmed he was, started beating him.

“I realized I had full blood on my nose and my nose was broken and it is very painful,” the individual told BBC. “I am getting on an Israeli plane which came to rescue us this afternoon and will get medical treatment back home.”

“While we appreciate that leaders in the Netherlands and Europe have rightly condemned this brazen attack, it demands more than statements,” Rabbi Moshe Hauer, Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union, said in a statement. “It demands that governments take new and concrete actions – both proactive and reactive – to stop this scourge, protect Jews, and prosecute those who criminally attack us.”

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