The CBC is at it again. This time, they’re explaining away the attacks on Israeli soccer fans that happened in Amsterdam on Nov. 7, suggesting there is a “clearer,” much more “nuanced” explanation for the violence that was doled out that night by individuals who chased and assaulted Jews in the street.
Which acts made Israeli soccer fans across the city deserving of such violence? The CBC points to a Nov. 11 joint letter by the Amsterdam mayor, police chief and chief prosecutor to council members, which states that some taxis in some parts of the city were vandalized, allegedly by Israelis; that an Israeli soccer fan took down a Palestinian flag from a building; and that others chanted slogans supporting the Israel Defense Forces. Is the CBC intentionally gaslighting Jews?
The Amsterdam authorities’ letter concludes that the events occurred due to a “toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism, and anger about the conflicts in Palestine and Israel, and other countries in the Middle East” — nowhere, however, does it suggest that antisemitism requires a “clearer,” “far more nuanced” take, as CBC’s reporter suggests.
After reading the letter and the CBC article a second time, I was left wondering, did we even read the same document?
The article seems to imply that no “Jew hunt” ever took place in Amsterdam — “a clearer picture of what happened that night is slowly emerging” — despite the fact that a “hunt on Jews” is mentioned in black and white on page 1 of the mayor’s letter. This should shock all Canadians. Was this reporter hoping no one would actually read the letter?
In reality, Amsterdam’s mayor breaks down events without the very-little-antisemitism-to-see-here rhetoric that our taxpayer-funded national broadcaster’s article suggests.
The CBC, meanwhile, suggests that the mayor of Amsterdam was wrong for blaming locals in a Nov. 8 statement condemning the “hateful, antisemitic rioters and criminals (who) attacked and beat up Jewish, Israeli visitors.” However, nothing in her letter to council on Nov. 11 contradicted her earlier words.
The CBC story continues by quoting remarks from several high-profile figures prior to the release of the mayor’s letter, including Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denouncing “unacceptable antisemitic attacks,” King Willem-Alexander saying his country had failed Jews again and Israeli President Isaac Herzog referring to the violence a “pogrom.” Assumedly to diminish the severity of events, the CBC reporter follows up with a “but” and a claim that the letter in question “indicates it was Israeli fans who initiated the first attacks, which then spiralled.”
But taking down a flag is not an attack. Random vandalism on taxi cabs, allegedly perpetrated by Israelis, is also not an attack. Nor is chanting offensive slogans. Has this reporter even been in Montreal on a Canadiens playoff game night? Forget taxis, police cars get overturned and set ablaze.
The mayor’s letter does not even make it clear that any Israelis were arrested for taxi vandalism, or whether the taxis that were vandalized were the same ones that refused service to Israelis, a common occurrence that evening. Not that refusal excuses vandalism, but it might provide a “clearer picture” of why some vandalism may have occurred.
Unlike the CBC’s downplaying of events, the letter by Amsterdam authorities does not mince words about the “aggressive and threatening messages” that appeared on “several social media platforms” prior to the attacks on Israelis.
We’re plainly told that police monitored the spike in these messages on open and closed Telegram and WhatsApp groups. The tone of these suggestions “grew harsher” and “antisemitic.” Authorities later concluded that these messages were primarily made by “young Moroccan Amsterdammers” who turned against the Israeli team supporters. They noted a “significant level of aggression and willingness to act, and, in some cases, mobilization at specific locations.” As if that wasn’t enough, police “received reports that taxi drivers were being called to assemble at Strandvliet metro station, where the Maccabi supporters would be disembarking.”
A clear picture is, indeed, painted of how police intercepted calls for riots to be incited across the city, how an Israeli was asked for his passport by a man on a scooter as a taxi driver told another Israeli he and his friends “would find him” and how fearful Israelis sheltered from threatening individuals waiting outside their hotels. The mayor’s letter tells us that, at one point, a propaganda video taking credit for the attacks and claiming to be from Hamas appeared on social media. The prime minister later brushed this possibility aside at a conference, suggesting it was a Hamas publicity stunt.
Shockingly, the CBC article claims that the mayor’s letter does not specify who attacked the Israeli soccer fans. It says, “other groups (the report does not say precisely who) then engaged in ‘violent hit and run actions’ targeting Israelis.” They must’ve attacked themselves. I guess it’s a mystery.
Except, of course, it’s not.
Police did their best to respond to all of the emergency calls. In their patrols, they were able to intervene and prevent numerous incidents against Israelis. Still, the letter makes it clear that these rioters were able to commit “severe assaults” on Israelis, calling the attacks “sporadic” and “extremely challenging” for police. It says the small groups of rioters committed these attacks through various means: by scooter, by car, on foot, attacking individuals and then leaving the scene.
The top priority in Amsterdam, according to the mayor’s letter, is now to “quickly identify and apprehend other suspects” using a special investigative team focused on the attacks against Israeli soccer fans. Video surveillance will be used to identify those who attacked Israeli soccer fans, and victims in Israel are collaborating with the team to file reports.
This doesn’t sound like your run-of-the-mill sports hooliganism to me. Nor does it sound like Israeli soccer fans asked for it. But CBC has made gaslighting Jews, especially since October 7, a national sport and a pastime.
National Post