The Amsterdam Pogrom: Rising Antisemitism in the Netherlands and Its Historical Echoes
Riots in Amsterdam 2024 remind of Kristallnacht 1938 (Free Malaysia Today).
While the Dutch UFC Ajax faced the Tel-Aviv Maccabees on the soccer field on November 7, 2024, local Dutch rioters faced Israeli citizens on the streets of Amsterdam, resulting in the hospitalization of at least five people and the arrest of sixty-two, reports Foreign Policy Magazine. Small groups targeted Israeli fans with what Amsterdam's mayor described as "hit-and-run" tactics. Taxi drivers aided rioters by driving Israeli citizens to the city center, away from the safety of their hotels.
The Dutch far-right and the Israeli government have referred to this event as the “Amsterdam Pogrom.” The term “pogrom” historically refers to “violent attacks by local non-Jewish populations on Jews in the Russian Empire and in other countries,” according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The attacks are especially poignant due to their timing, having occurred just before the commemoration of Kristallnacht, the infamous 1938 Nazi pogrom against German Jews that signaled a horrific escalation in antisemitic violence throughout Europe. The BBC reports that King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands testified that Dutch history should serve as a reminder of how antisemitism can swiftly escalate into widespread brutality. For instance, Foreign Policy in Focus documents the deaths of roughly 75 percent of Dutch Jews during the Holocaust. Some left-leaning publications, including Foreign Policy in Focus, argue that provocative actions of Maccabi supporters—such as tearing down Palestinian flags—precipitated the incident.
On the other hand, Amsterdam's mayor, Femke Halsema, stated that the recent violence was not related to the situation in the Middle East, per the BBC. According to Fox News, both Israel and the United States dispute this viewpoint, affirming Netanyahu's claim that "a clear line connects the two antisemitic attacks against Israel that we have seen recently on Dutch soil: the reprehensible legal assault against the State of Israel at the International Court in The Hague and the violent attack against Israeli citizens on the streets of Amsterdam."
According to Foreign Policy Magazine, the Netherlands has witnessed a notable increase in antisemitic incidents following Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023. A series of alarming events, including the arrest of 150 AZ Alkmaar soccer fans for chanting antisemitic slogans and protests against the inauguration of a Holocaust museum by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, underscore this trend. Furthermore, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports that antisemitic incidents in the country have surged by an alarming 243 percent.
As the Netherlands confronts its historical legacy and addresses current societal tensions, its response to the events of November 7 could establish a precedent for combating antisemitism and religious intolerance in the 21st century.