‘We cannot be turned into enemies’

The Dutch capital is still reeling from the unrest that broke out a week ago when Israeli football fans were attacked in the center of Amsterdam.

City officials described the violence as a “toxic combination of anti-Semitism, hooliganism and anger” over the war in Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.

As the streets are cleared of Maccabi Ultras stickers and tensions remain, there are concerns it will damage relations between Amsterdam’s Jewish and Muslim communities.

The tension also spread to Dutch politics.

The Dutch coalition government is hanging by a thread after a Moroccan-born minister resigned over the language used by his coalition colleagues.

Amsterdam had already seen protests and tensions due to the war in the Middle East, and local Rabbi Lody van de Kamp believes it is like a firebox: “If you get 2,000 (Israeli) football fans out on the streets, you know, trouble.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had arrived in the city for the Europa League match against Ajax, and footage was widely shared the night before showing a group of fans climbing a wall to destroy and burn the Palestinian flag.

The Amsterdam council report stated that taxis were also attacked and destroyed.

Emine Uğur, a well-known columnist in the Muslim community, says the tensions surrounding the war in Gaza mean that the violence that follows “has been a long time coming.”

It speaks to the lack of acknowledgment of the pain felt by communities affected by conflict, with many unable to relieve their sadness and frustration.

The flag burning incident and anti-Arab slogans were seen as a deliberate provocation.

However, messages later emerged on social media calling for retaliation; some used chilling terms like “Jew hunting.”

On the evening of the match, a pro-Palestinian protest forced Johan Cruyff off the field, but violence broke out in the hours afterwards.

In the 12-page report prepared by Amsterdam authorities, it is stated that some Maccabi fans “committed acts of vandalism” in the center.

It then highlights “small groups of rebels engaging in violent hit-and-runs targeting Israeli supporters and nightlife crowds” in locations throughout the city centre. They moved “on foot, on a scooter or in a car… carrying out violent attacks.”

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema described the events as extremely worrying and noted that, for some, these events reminded them of historical pogroms against Jews.

For several hours, much of the European capital’s Jewish community felt as if they were under siege.

These events coincided with the anniversary of the 1938 Nazi pogroms against Jews, also known as Kristallnacht.

Although local imams and other members of the Muslim community attended the commemorations, this further increased the fears of Amsterdam’s Jewish community.

Senior members, including Esther Voet, editor of the Dutch Jewish Weekly, organized emergency shelters and coordinated rescue efforts for those who feared for their lives.

The Dutch government responded by allocating €4.5 million (£3.6 million) to combat antisemitism and support victims.

Minister of Justice David van Weel emphasized that the Jewish people should feel safe in their own country and promised that the perpetrators would be dealt with in the harshest way.

But Chanan Hertzberger, president of the Central Jewish Committee, warned that these measures alone may not be enough.

He partly blamed the atmosphere where “antisemitic rhetoric has gone unchecked since October 7” and added: “Our history has taught us that when people say they want to kill you, they mean it and they will try.”

The violence and its aftermath also exposed political fissures, and some of the language used by politicians shocked the Netherlands’ Moroccan community.

Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Freedom Party, the largest of the four parties that make up the Dutch coalition government, called for the deportation of people with dual citizenship for antisemitism.

Both he and his coalition partner, Caroline van der Plas, point to young people of Moroccan or North African descent, among others.

Dutch-Moroccan commentator Hassnae Bouazza complained that his community has been accused of not being integrated for years and is now threatened with the removal of their Dutch citizenship.

Nadia Bouras, a Dutch historian of Moroccan origin, told Het Parool newspaper in Amsterdam that using the term “integration” for people who have lived in the Netherlands for four generations is like “holding them hostage”.

“You keep them in constant alienation even though they are not strangers.”

Junior social welfare minister Nora Achahbar, who was born in Morocco and raised in the Netherlands, said on Friday that she was withdrawing from the government because of the racist language she heard at a cabinet meeting on Monday, three days after the violence. in Amsterdam.

It may not be the last.

Rabbi van de Kamp told the BBC he was concerned that antisemitism was being politicized to advance Islamophobic agendas.

He warns against repeating exclusionary attitudes reminiscent of the 1930s, saying such rhetoric not only endangers Jewish communities but deepens suspicions in society: “We must show our enemies that we cannot engage.”

The impact on Amsterdam’s Muslim and Jewish residents is profound.

Many Jews removed mezuzahs (small Torah scrolls) from their door jambs or covered them with duct tape for fear of retaliation.

Esther Voet sees the emotional burden on her society: “It would be an exaggeration to say that the Netherlands is now the same as it was in the 1930s, but we must pay attention and speak out when we see something that is not right.”

Muslims, meanwhile, argue that they are being held responsible for the actions of a small minority without even identifying the perpetrators.

Columnist Emine Uğur also faced increasing threats as a vocal Muslim woman: “People are feeling emboldened.”

She fears for her son’s future in a polarized society where dividing lines are becoming increasingly harsh.

Academics and community leaders called for de-escalation and mutual understanding.

Bart Wallet, professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Amsterdam, emphasizes the need for careful terminology and warns against equating recent violence with past pogroms.

Like others, he hopes the violence is an isolated incident and not a sign of worsening ethnic polarization.

Mayor Femke Halsema is adamant that antisemitism should not be followed by other forms of racism, and emphasizes that the safety of one group should not be at the expense of another.

The violence has caused Amsterdam to question its identity as a diverse and tolerant city.

There is a collective recognition in the Dutch capital and beyond that as residents seek to rebuild trust, they must address the tensions that fuel such unrest.

Rubbing his hands against the cold as Amsterdam’s cyclists pass by, Rabbi van de Kamp remembers his mother’s words: “We are allowed to be very angry, but we must never hate.”