Antisemitic Rioters Target Israeli Soccer Fans After Amsterdam Game, 5 Hospitalized
HuffPost
Some 62 people were arrested over the violence following the Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Amsterdam police said Friday that five people were hospitalized and 62 arrested after what authorities described as systematic violence by antisemitic rioters targeting Israeli fans following a soccer match.
The Dutch and Israeli leaders denounced the violence, and condemnation poured in from Jewish groups. Israel’s foreign minister left on an urgent diplomatic trip to the Netherlands. Security concerns have shrouded matches with Israeli teams in multiple countries over the past year because of global tensions linked to the wars in the Middle East.
The Amsterdam police said in a post on X that they have started a major investigation into multiple violent incidents. The post did not provide further details about those injured or detained in Thursday night’s violence following the Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Authorities said extra police would patrol Amsterdam in coming days, and security will be beefed up at Jewish institutions in the city that has a large Jewish community and was home to Jewish World War II diarist Anne Frank and her family as they hid from Nazi occupiers.
Earlier, a statement issued by the Dutch capital’s municipality, police and prosecution office said that the night “was very turbulent with several incidents of violence aimed at Maccabi supporters″ after antisemitic rioters “actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them.″
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