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Violent Attacks in Amsterdam Tied to Antisemitism

The Israeli government said it was sending two planes to the Netherlands on Friday to rescue citizens injured in Amsterdam after bursts of violence tied to a soccer game between a Dutch and an Israeli team, which Israeli and Dutch officials described as antisemitic attacks.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said at least 10 Israeli citizens had been hurt in the violence and two others were missing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the sending of the rescue planes and said that he had spoken with Prime Minister Dick Schoof of the Netherlands.

Mr. Schoof said in a statement early Friday that there had been antisemitic attacks on Israelis in Amsterdam, calling them “completely unacceptable.” He added that the situation had calmed and that he had told Mr. Netanyahu in their phone conversation that the perpetrators would be arrested and prosecuted.

For hours, video had been circulating on social media that showed violent clashes on Amsterdam streets. One video verified by Reuters showed a crowd of more than a dozen men appearing to attack someone near the city center early Friday. The crowd dispersed when emergency sirens could be heard.

“We woke up this morning to shocking images and videos that since October 7th, we had hoped never to see again: an antisemitic pogrom,” said Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, on social media on Friday.

The Dutch police said in a statement on Friday that 57 arrests were made in connection with the unrest, some of which took place at or near the Johan Cruyff Arena, where Ajax, Amsterdam’s soccer team, was playing against Maccabi Tel Aviv, of Israel.

The clashes, which began Thursday, happened in areas where people had gathered, some in support of the Israeli team and others to protest its arrival, the police statement said.

Hundreds of Maccabi supporters gathered in Amsterdam’s center early Thursday afternoon, where the atmosphere was initially tense but gradually became calmer, the police said in the statement. Ten people were arrested there before the game, the police said, mostly on charges of disrupting the public order.

At another square called Anton de Komplein, which is near the stadium, people protesting the arrival of Maccabi Tel Aviv clashed with the military police after trying to make their way to the stadium. Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema, had earlier prohibited the protest from happening at the stadium and ordered it to take place at that square.

About 30 people were arrested in that confrontation on charges of disrupting the public order and setting off fireworks at the police, the police said.

Gideon Saar, Israel’s newly appointed foreign minister, said that his ministry was working with the Dutch authorities to respond to the violence, and that those needing help should contact the authorities.

The post Violent Attacks in Amsterdam Tied to Antisemitism appeared first on New York Times.

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