Amsterdam police said there are “no more missing persons in connection” with a violent attack on Israelis following a soccer match on Thursday night.
Fans of the sport gathered at the city’s Johan Cruyff Arena to watch the game between Amsterdam’s Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv. In a news release, the City of Amsterdam said that Maccabi supporters were attacked in several locations and the “police had to intervene” in order to “protect Israeli supporters and escort them to hotels.”
“So far, it is known that five people have been taken to the hospital and 62 individuals have been arrested,” Amsterdam police unit, Politie Eenheid Amsterdam, wrote in a post on X on Friday just before 4 a.m. ET.
In an initial statement, police said they were “aware of reports of a possible hostage situation.” However, later in a post on X, translated to English, they said after an investigation, there were no missing persons.
Israeli media also reported that missing Maccabi fans had been accounted for, according to the Jerusalem Post and Ynet.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the “horrific antisemitic scenes coming out of Amsterdam” in a post on X.
Videos circulating online showed the brutality and widespread nature of the attacks. Attackers could be seen dragging, grabbing and kicking people while on the ground.
In a series of videos shared on Instagram by pro-Palestinian groups, anti-Israel protesters can be seen walking the streets with Palestinian flags draped across their backs, while they chant. In the same post, videos also show police trying to disperse the crowds.
‘Don’t look the other way’: Canadians react
Canadians reacted to the violence against Israelis and Jews in Amsterdam on Friday, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau called the attacks “horrifying” and a “dark moment for our world” in a post on X.
“My heart goes out to the victims, and the entire Jewish community today. Canada condemns this disgusting antisemitism.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called the reports coming out of Amsterdam “abhorrent.”
“Jews are being hunted in Europe days before the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Never again is now,” he wrote on X. Kristallnacht, also called the Night of Broken Glass, occurred on Nov. 9, 1938, when Germany’s Nazi Party destroyed and vandalized Jewish businesses, synagogues and homes.
MP Melissa Lantsman pointed out that the violence in the Dutch capital “is what ‘globalize the intifada’ looks like.”
“Don’t look the other way,” she wrote on X. “Watch the footage and stand up against this lawless mob there and everywhere.”
President-CEO Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish advocacy group dedicated to Holocaust education, called the attacks a “modern day pogrom.”
“This terrifying display is but a stones throw from the vile scenes of Jew hatred we’ve witnessed here at home. Whether in Amsterdam, Toronto or Montreal, when the extremist mobs scream they want to ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ they mean it,” he said.
Israelis urged not to go in the streets, wear Jewish symbols
Israeli publication Arutz Sheva reported that Israelis in Amsterdam have been told by the National Security Council (NSC) not to leave their hotel rooms, to stay off the streets and not to wear any Israeli or Jewish symbols. They also told Israelis to book flights back to Israel as soon as possible.
Another match between the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team is scheduled Friday night in Bologna, Italy. The NSC reportedly told Israelis not to attend, per the Times of Israel, citing the potential for a copycat attack.
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