Amsterdam 2024: This is What ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Looks Like | |
BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES
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Israel did not exist when the Holocaust brought death and destruction to Jews across Europe. Israel is now a nation capable of sending planes to Europe to rescue Jews in peril, and it recently did just that – rescuing Israelis under attack in Amsterdam. It is mind-blowing that Jews in Europe today needed to be saved after premeditated and coordinated violent attacks were carried out against Israeli soccer fans for just being Jewish. The assault happened right before the anniversary of Kristallnacht, Night of Broken Glass – the notorious night when Nazis ransacked thousands of Jewish businesses, destroyed hundreds of synagogues and killed 91 Jews in 1938. Chants to “Globalize the Intifada” around the world are normalizing attacks against Jews everywhere.
Netherlands: ‘Hunting for Jews’
In the midst of attacks, videos and pictures quickly spread on social media documenting the violence:
- A driver intentionally rams a Jewish man in the street causing him to fly into the air
- An Israeli was kicked on the ground while unconscious
- Men and women on the ground, beaten and bloody
- An Israeli forced into a canal and hounded until he stated, “Free Palestine”
- Earlier in the day, two men chased an Israeli down the street and beat him with their belts
Non-Jews also were attacked. One man was punched in the face while shouting: “I’m not Jewish!” Another was beaten because the attackers stated that he “helped a Jew.”
The Network Contagion Research Institute documented evidence of the planned violence. Several Dutch anti-Israel groups used their social media accounts on Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp to promote organized violence. Amsterdam’s mayor: “On social media groups, people talked of going to hunt down Jews.”
Israelis witnessed gangs spread throughout the city armed with clubs and knives ready to ambush them, stabbing, kicking and ramming cars into Israelis. Dan Kopleh: “For an hour and a half from the start of the event, the police didn’t lift a finger.” Amit Amira: “Three people approached me on the street and asked where I was from. I said, ‘Greece.’ One of them grabbed my hand and told me to show my ID.” A day before the game, an Israeli was beaten up by a gang of nearly a dozen: “I was punched in the head, two teeth broken. I was found in a pool of blood.”
The Netherlands is home to nearly 1 million Muslims, largely the result of the Dutch colonial past when it controlled large swaths of what is now Indonesia and other predominantly Muslim lands. Muslim immigration increased after a civil war in Indonesia and guest worker programs that brought Turks and Moroccans and other immigrants from Southeast Asia and North Africa.
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Non-Jewish Hero Emerges in Amsterdam: ‘I saved as many as I could’
An Israeli Druze soccer fan said he felt the attacks reminded him of 10/7. He used his fluent Arabic to save the lives of Israeli Jews – an estimated 150. Melhem Asad:
“The local police just screwed up. They didn’t guard us. We felt totally exposed after the game. I shouted to a group of Arabic-speaking attackers, that no Jews are still here, that they escaped and they believed I was one of them. I did everything I could to confuse them, knowing exactly where our fans were. I ran toward groups of Israelis and warned them that dangerous immigrants are looking to hurt us. I feel that God sent me at the right time. I am an Israeli, and I knew I had to help if I could.”
A local Chabad rabbi also mobilized local Jews to help the trapped Israelis. Rabbi Dovi Pinkovitch: “There were cases when local taxis took the Israelis towards the center of the clashes instead of bringing them to safety, so we understood we need to help.” Jews from Germany and Holland drove for hours to reach Amsterdam to help out.
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Dutch Leaders Ignored Warnings: ‘We failed the Jewish community again’
Israeli security agencies warned Dutch authorities about three identifiable threats before the soccer game. Now, the government is investigating why these warnings were not addressed. There were reports that police arrested 62 attackers, but those arrests were made before and during the game.
Dutch and other prominent leaders – including the Dutch king and prime minister, the Amsterdam mayor and dozens of politicians worldwide – immediately condemned the attacks. Dutch police admitted they failed to be more prepared and did not act quickly enough:
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Dutch king: “We failed the Jewish community during WWII, last night we failed again.”
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Israeli prime minister: 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht was “marked” on streets of Amsterdam.
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U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres: “The hysterical and hyperbolic demonization of Israel has led to a global outbreak of antisemitic vitriol, vandalism and violence.”
A recent troubling report claimed that some Dutch police officers refused to guard Jewish sites or events – including the Dutch National Holocaust Museum – because of “moral objections.” When the museum opened in March, anti-Israel activists protested outside because Israel’s president attended the ceremony. Attacks against Jews in the Netherlands have surged 800% since the 10/7 massacre. Earlier this year, a Dutch airport guard of Pakistani ancestry harassed a former hostage of Hamas. Two survivors of the Nova music festival faced similar abuse at a British airport.
About 3,000 Israeli soccer fans were in Amsterdam to cheer their team from Tel Aviv that was playing against a Dutch squad. Videos show some Israeli fans tearing down a Palestinian flag the day before the attack, as well as a large group of fans chanting anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian rhetoric. These acts have been used by some to justify the attacks even though there is evidence that the large-scale assaults across the city were organized and coordinated well in advance.
Police officers “deny that the Jewish supporters misbehaved or brought aggression upon themselves.” One officer stated: “The ferocity of the attacks, but also the cowardice to beat up groups of defenseless people in dark alleys and streets was disgusting.” Days later, Arab and Muslim rioters torched a tram, with at least one instigator shouting, “Cancer Jews,” proving that this the prior attacks targeted Jews not Israelis or soccer ‘hooligans.’ The Netherlands is home to nearly 1 million Muslims, largely the result of the Dutch colonial past.
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Belgium: ‘Hunting for Jews’
Anti-Israel activists took to social media to call for a “Jew hunt” in the Jewish quarter of Antwerp, Belgium, following the Amsterdam violence. Police increased patrols. Attacks on the Belgian Jewish community mirror assaults around the world. A few weeks prior, assailants filmed themselves attacking a 14-year-old Orthodox boy: “They wrestled him to the ground, sat on him and stomped on his skull.” Belgian Rep. Michael Freilich called for soldiers to patrol the streets. He mentioned that at a recent anti-Israel demonstration, there was a shout: “Allah, burn the Jews.”
In London, two residents in a Facebook group used an anti-Jewish slur coined by the KKK to incite violence at Queen Mary Univ.: “Can’t wait to give them the welcome they deserve,” stated Abdul Rahman. Keira Peters responded, “Amsterdam style.” Also in the British capital, a Jewish woman was rendered unconscious by kicks in the head from two teenage girls who laughed over her body: “She’s dead!”
Paris is another soccer focal point. The day before the Amsterdam attacks, fans of a Qatar-owned Paris soccer team unfurled a massive “Free Palestine” banner that erased Israel and glorified violence. France is deploying 4,000 security officers for the Israeli men’s national team’s upcoming soccer match. Israeli national and local soccer and basketball teams have been playing their European competition ‘home’ games in Budapest, Hungary, and Belgrade, Serbia – European cities considered to be safer for Israeli teams.
America: Attacks Leading up to Kristallnacht Anniversary
A man wearing a balaclava recently attempted to kidnap a six-year-old Jewish boy straight out of his father’s hand while walking down the street in broad daylight in Brooklyn. Days later, a man driving his moped with a woman holding a young child behind him knocked a kippa off of the head of a Jewish man who was crossing the street on Staten Island. LA police are investigating a hate crime following vandalism of Jewish-owned businesses. And on the same night as the Kristallnacht anniversary, a kosher Washington, DC, restaurant had its windows shattered, causing $12,000 in damages.
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1. The Amsterdam attacks were premeditated and coordinated
The assaults on Jewish soccer fans were planned in advance, with groups using social media to organize their movements and tactics, making the incidents deliberate, not impulsive. This distinction is crucial. Planned violence reflects an intent to target and harm, underscoring the severity and organized nature of antisemitic hate crimes. The coordination illustrates a disturbing level of commitment to causing fear and harm to the Jewish community. The existence of Israel strengthens the ability of Jews to stand up to hatred that was not possible during the Holocaust or intensifying attacks across Europe in the 1930s. From Amsterdam to London, and NYC to Washington, DC, these are increasingly perilous times for Jews, and too reminiscent of horrors from centuries of history past.
2. Anti-Jewish hatred is the oldest hatred
Antisemitism has endured for thousands of years, morphing into religious, cultural and political disguises to fit each era. While justifications change, the underlying hostility remains: targeting Jews for simply existing. This ancient hatred fueled the Crusades, the Inquisition, Russian pogroms, the Holocaust and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. Now, anti-Jewish sentiment is often masked as opposition to Israel, yet it relies on the same harmful stereotypes from past generations. Acknowledging this deep-rooted, insidious form of hate is critical for combating it.
3. Israel is used as an excuse to target Jews
The Jewish state is consistently used to justify targeting Jewish communities worldwide. Under the guise of opposing Israeli policies, hate speech often leading to anti-Israel activists engage in antisemitic acts, from violent assaults to vandalism. Recent attacks in Amsterdam highlight this disturbing trend, where hostility toward Israel excuses harm to Jews. Antisemitism existed for centuries before Israel was even a state, proving that Israel is just an excuse. A Dutch Moroccan: “We have no problem with the Jews, it’s with Israelis. I am glad we taught you a lesson.” Masked as political expression, rhetoric fuels prejudice, inciting hostility and isolating Jewish communities. Antisemitism in all forms must be condemned.
4. Normalization of hatred encourages violence
Chants to “Globalize the Intifada” have echoed through pro-Hamas demonstrations across America and around the world since the 10/7 massacre. Excusing violence against any group deepens divides and normalizes hate, setting the stage for escalation. The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the attacks a “false claim” and the Boston Univ. Students for Justice in Palestine chapter promoted the false narrative that the Amsterdam assaults were not antisemitic. When attacks against Jews are brushed off or rationalized, it sends a clear message that certain biases are acceptable – even permissible.
5. When pro-Hamas activists call for violence, Jews do not respond with attacks
When anti-Zionist groups burn American and Israeli flags and chant for Israel’s destruction, Jewish communities do not respond with violence. Supporters of Israel usually wave American and Israeli flags, sing and promote peace. This clear difference between their approaches is evident not only in America, but around the world. While one side may resort to violence, pro-Israel advocates demonstrate a commitment to peace, respect and unity, setting a powerful example for coexistence.
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Ensure Jews receive the same protections as any other group
Jewish communities deserve full protection against hate and violence. Call on national, state and local leaders to prioritize security, enforce anti-hate laws and promote community initiatives to ensure everyone – including Jews – can live, worship and gather safely, free from discrimination and threats.
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Justifying Terror Against Jews
American singer-songwriter and Bob Dylan’s son-in-law Peter Himmelman responded to the false narrative that is blaming the Jewish soccer fans for the attacks against them. An excerpt from Justifying terror against Jews:
Sometimes, having so much to say makes it hard to say anything at all. I’ll start with someone I knew in NY in the mid-eighties – let’s call him HON, a hairdresser of note, whose advice I once followed religiously.
Last night, however, HON posted something vile on Instagram, blaming Jews for recent attacks against them. He claimed “inside knowledge” from Amsterdam that somehow Jewish fans brought violence upon themselves. This tactic – blaming Jews for the horrors inflicted on them – is an age-old prejudice. It’s how the Crusades, Inquisition, European pogroms, the Hebron Massacre, the Shoah and now 10/7 unfolded: justifications based on the supposed "faults" of Jews, for being “too loud” or “too proud.”
What HON’s post shows is the insidious progression of hate: how the world can shrug, justify, and accept unspeakable violence against Jews. But it also shows something new. When nearly a dozen planes from El Al and Arkia flew to rescue Amsterdam’s Jews, the world was reminded that Jews are no longer willing to go like lambs to the slaughter.
I ask HON: Where’s your evidence? The King of the Netherlands himself acknowledged, “We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again.” Spreading hate is beneath you. Stick to hair.
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Stories Impacting the U.S. and Israel
Stories From Around the World
o Promotion of antisemitism: Judaism values violence
o Minimization of the Holocaust: Auschwitz was a “prisoner of war camp”
o One-sided view of Israel: Sole aggressor, with no ancestral claims to land
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The Focus Project develops and distributes news, background, history and weekly talking points on timely issues to inform individuals and organizations about issues affecting the American Jewish community and Israel, and help readers speak with more consistency and clarity. The editions also provide potential responses for addressing incidents of antisemitism and anti-Zionism. With input from a spectrum of major American Jewish organizations, we focus on that which unites us, rising above political and individual agendas.
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