On Thursday night, Jews, Israelis, and supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv were hunted down in the streets of Amsterdam by antisemitic hate mobs. Some victims were beaten, others were rammed with vehicles, and it led to Israel sending emergency flights to assist Israelis fleeing a ‘safe’ European country. It was a night of terror that left dozens injured and led to the arrest of more than 60 people. This is being framed by the media as football hooliganism, or raucous fans causing problems and getting their just deserts. The truth is that innocent Jews were hunted down and beaten on the streets of a European capital, just two days before the anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Kristallnacht was “marked on the streets of Amsterdam”.

“Tomorrow, 86 years ago, was Kristallnacht, when Jews on European soil were attacked for being Jews. This has now recurred,” Netanyahu said referring to the events of November 9, 1938, a Nazi pogrom that marked a turning point in the escalating persecution of Jews that eventually led to the murder of 6 million European Jews by the Nazis and their supporters during the Holocaust.

“There is one difference now, though, the Jewish people now have a state of their own,” Netanyahu said.

The Jews of 1938’s Germany had no safe place to go. Today, the Jews have Israel. And the Israeli government arranged for planes to be sent to Amsterdam to give free flights back to Israeli fans and offer medical assistance to those who had been injured.

The King of the Netherlands led the country’s condemnation in defense of the Jewish people, likening last night’s violent attacks to those witnessed in Holland in the Holocaust.

“We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again,” the Dutch king said to President Isaac Herzog in a phone call on Friday morning, according to a readout.

The king expressed “deep horror and shock” over the attacks, and told Herzog that it must be “unequivocally condemned.”

Some have tried to portray this as scuffles between football fans, or fights by opposing sides. Even the BBC described them as “clashes”, but to report such a thing is dangerously inaccurate.

Ajax were the Dutch team playing Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv. Ajax are nicknamed the “Super Jews” and are known for being pro-Israel.

Before the match, Ajax fans and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were filmed celebrating together with Israeli flags and showing their friendship.

This was not clashes between rival football fans or football hooligans causing problems. This was a planned attack by Islamists and pro-Hamas thugs.

As pointed out by Israel Advocacy Movement in this excellent video, it was a premeditated lynching by people who had no interest in the football.

Despite the king’s comments and the ample footage on social media which highlights the brutal attacks on innocent civilians, there were some horrible takes on this story from the mainstream media. Many were trying to blame the Israeli fans for the violence, downplay the Muslim criminal gangs, or do both.

Reuters reported that the 62 people were arrested after “pro-Palestinian protests” and that Israeli fans were filmed “chanting anti-Arab slogans”.

To be clear, these were not “pro-Palestinian protests.” These were antisemitic lynch mobs using the guise of being Palestinian supporters to mask their hatred of Jews. And the actions of a small number of Israeli fans does not justify hunting down and violently attacking innocent people because of their race or ethnicity.

Shamefully, Reuters is not the only media outlet to attempt to blur the lines and blame the Jews for being attacked.

The BBC also painted the Israeli victims as the cause of the violence.

We all know that football hooligans can cause problems and their actions are at times deplorable. However, not all football fans are hooligans. Anyone who goes to watch football matches knows that 99% of the fans attending are good, honest people who are only there to support their team and enjoy the game. A small minority who tore down a couple of flags or a group chanting anti-Arab slogans does not justify open attacks on fans or the hunting down of random Jews on the streets. It doesn’t justify attacking women and children. It doesn’t justifying throwing people onto train tracks. It doesn’t justify pushing people into rivers. It doesn’t justifying ramming vehicles into Jews in hit and run attacks. It doesn’t justify beating up foreign nationals who assist Jewish victims.

All of these happened last night. And the media and anti-Israel activists online are justifying this when they try to blame the victims or pass it off as football hooliganism.

Jews were fearing for their lives in Amsterdam last night as hundreds of antisemitic criminals patrolled the streets and carried out violence.

This is not Gaza. This is not 1930s Germany. This is Amsterdam in 2024. Jews should not be forced to hide for fear of being lynched.

Yet, the antisemitic hatred of Israel has been allowed to foment on the streets of London, Paris, Munich, Amsterdam, and every major European capital not only over the past year but for many years before that. It is not surprising that terror supporting mobs are feeling bold enough to attack Jews in Amsterdam. It could very easily happen in the UK because the government and the police have done too little to crack down on it.

More than this, the media and organisations like the United Nations have also helped fuel the anti-Israel hatred there is with their lies and misinformation.

Israel is being demonised from every angle, and it means that when Israelis and Jews are attacked on the streets, there are some who have no sympathy at all for them. They have lost their compassion, they’ve been blinded by hatred.

Antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes have spilled over into outright hatred, rage, and bloodlust. And the West is too slow to react to something we’ve seen brewing for decades.

This is not unique to Amsterdam.

Jews in London have told CUFI that they no longer go outside wearing anything that reveals their Jewish identity for fear that they will be attacked or abused. One Rabbi explained that travelling outside their local area with a kippah on means it was not just a possibility they would receive antisemitic abuse, it was a guarantee.

The Jewish people are already feeling vulnerable and there is no doubt that the incidents in Amsterdam will be felt by the Jewish community throughout the world. Israelis especially will be questioning where they will be safe visiting in the world. They are bound to be feeling even more isolated.

This is a spiritual battle we are in. Antisemitism is evil and unfortunately it is manifesting this way because governments, leaders, media outlets and others have no idea what they are dealing with or how to stop it.

As Christians who love the Jewish people, we must call out antisemitism at every turn, expose the truth, and continue pray. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. We must not allow them to win.

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