Statements from pro- and anti-war forces on the soccer violence in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sent out by email November 9th at 8:30am; I happened to come across it first in my inbox regarding Amsterdam; a case of being hated by the right parties and a danger under both Biden-Harris and Trump-Vance:

Antisemitic Violence Instigated by Pro-Palestinian Protestors in Amsterdam

(New York, N.Y.) — Counter Extremism Project (CEP) CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace and Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler issued the following statement in response to a wave of antisemitic violence from pro-Palestinian protestors targeting fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer club following a game against FC Ajax in Amsterdam:

These brutal incidents targeting Israelis and Jews in Amsterdam—which so far include violent assault, chasing individuals into canals and not allowing them out until they assent to “Free Palestine,” stealing Israeli passports, looting, and invading hotels accommodating Israeli guests—would be totally unacceptable anywhere in the world, let alone in the heart of one of Europe’s most civilized capitals.

Regrettably, it is not entirely unexpected: Dutch Jews, like Jews across Western Europe, have been advised and compelled to hide any visible indications of their Jewish identity for many years, while synagogues require more protection in Europe than any other religious institutions. Meanwhile, Dutch police have offered only vague statements in response to reports that individual officers are refusing to provide security for Jewish institutions and Jewish events. Antisemitism in the wake of October 7—when 1,200 Israelis were massacred by Hamas—has also surged, and notably in major Western European cities which are home to sizeable communities of immigrants from institutionally antisemitic countries.

It is also clear that these attacks are far from spontaneous. In fact, evidence has emerged that they were organized and coordinated beforehand. The responsible networks must be identified, disrupted, and held to account—an approach that CEP has already outlined and advocated for.

One must ask serious questions of Dutch security forces, who were reportedly warned yesterday by Israeli authorities that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were likely to be targeted. Large gangs, including of North African migrants, rampaged apparently unfettered through the streets, chanting messages of Jihad while hunting Jews in scenes that can only be described as a modern-day “pogrom.” These events in Amsterdam are precisely what the call to “Globalize the Intifada” looks like.

It was almost 86 years to the day that the Nazi Party’s SS and SA, along with German civilians, carried out the Kristallnacht pogrom which killed 91 and destroyed thousands of Jewish-owned properties and Synagogues on November 9-10, 1938. Kristallnacht marked the turning point toward explicit physical violence, and ultimately presaged the Holocaust’s destruction of two-thirds of European Jewry. As Jews in Europe are still made to fear for their safety, even at a simple sporting event, it is apparent that the oft-repeated dictum, “Never Forget,” is simply not enough.

To read CEP’s policy brief on Identifying and Disrupting Key Antisemitic Actors, please click here.

To read more about Extremism in the Netherlands, please click here.

Originally posted November 8th at: samidoun.net/2024/11/amsterdam-free-from-zionism-for-a-total-boycott-globalize-the-intifada/ ; any typos edited:

Amsterdam free from Zionism! For a total boycott — globalize the intifada!

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The following statement was issued by Samidoun Nederland following the genocidal chants (including “Kill the Arabs” and cheering for the mass slaughter of Palestinian children in Gaza), thefts of Palestinian flags, destruction of property, breaking of windows, and attacks on Arab and Muslim community members by Zionist football hooligans, fans of “Maccabi Tel Aviv” in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. See also the statement of the Masar Badil: “There is no place for Zionism, racism and fascism in the squares and stadiums of Europe.”

This was followed by the popular response holding the rioting hooligans accountable for their fascist attacks in the streets through community self-defense. In response, the imperialist powers once again underlined their full responsibility and involvement in the ongoing genocide in Palestine, as officials from the notorious Geert Wilders of the Netherlands to Ursula von der Leyen to Justin Trudeau rushed to condemn the people of Amsterdam for confronting rioting fascist Zionist hooligans in the streets. The incident demonstrated once again that the masses of the world, including in the heart of the imperial core, find genocidal fascism, racism and Zionism repugnant and are willing to act to defend themselves, their communities and Palestine from their attacks, despite harsh police repression, criminalization and threats of deportation. No amount of repression will force the people to accommodate Zionist racism and support genocide in Palestine:

Throughout the past week, Zionist hooligans have been attacking the people of Amsterdam and causing destruction in the city and its neighbourhoods. People walking on the streets wearing kuffiyehs, taxi drivers, and random Muslims and Arabs have been beaten up by these hooligans. The windows of homes with Palestinian flags were smashed and the flags stolen. The police did not intervene, the media was silent and the mayor stood by and watched as these Zionist hooligans caused chaos in the city.

Yet how different is the situation after a night in which the people of Amsterdam — Muslims, Christians and Jews, Dutch, Arabs and Palestinians — defended themselves and their city against this violence?! The police arrested dozens of people, the media speaks outrageously with sensationalistic lies, and the mayor speaks of very serious “anti-Semitic” incidents. It is as if the world turned upside down.

Where in occupied Palestine the imperialist powers declare their support for the Israeli genocide and fulfill it with military, diplomatic and economic assistance, here in Amsterdam, the ruling powers express their support for fascist Zionist hooligans who attack our city and our people. Where in Palestine, the Palestinian resistance is repressed with life sentences, here, the defenders of Amsterdam are beaten up and arrested by the police. These are, we note, the same police force that was responsible for arresting tens of thousands of Amsterdam Jews during World War II.

The reaction of the people of Amsterdam to the fascist hooligans is normal and natural. First, because we do not accept any attack on our city and people, and second, because these attacks are racially motivated. It is very clear that the attacks of the Maccabi hooligans are anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim and anti-Arab. This also makes them anti-Amsterdam, because these groups are a crucial part of Amsterdam, of our city, our people and our community. This whole week, Amsterdammers have been attacked and harassed, and last night they decided to defend themselves and not turn the other cheek anymore.

The self-defense of the people of Amsterdam against fascist attacks is indeed exactly what we mean by “Globalize the Intifada” . This is part of the boycott movement to isolate and weaken “Israel.” Just as we fight for the exclusion of the Zionist regime from education, culture and sports, we also want fascist Zionists to have nowhere that they find free rein to celebrate genocide and attack Palestinians, Arabs and entire communities.

The self-defense of the people of Amsterdam also follows months of political and media attacks against Palestinians and their supporters, especially the student activists who have unleashed a student intifada since May. This includes the Dutch entry ban against our European coordinator Mohammed Khatib, which we demand be lifted immediately.

The people of Amsterdam declared last night that Zionism will not be tolerated here. Amsterdam is a Zionism-free city. And if it is not yet, we will make it so. And no, anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism. This movement is made up of people of all backgrounds, religions and ethnicities. This movement is a popular movement that is against genocide and wants to liberate Palestine from the river to the sea. This movement is not led by one or even several organizations. It is the masses of Amsterdam and the Netherlands, the so-called “ordinary, hard-working Dutch people,” who defended the city against fascist hooligans last night.

We call for the immediate release of all those arrested and the dropping of all charges against them. This is the moment to escalate the fight against genocide and for the liberation of Palestine. Together against Dutch support for “Israel” and for the total isolation of the Zionist regime, in sports and all other arenas.

Now is the time to defeat Zionism in Palestine — and its birthplace, Europe!

For a total boycott of the Zionist entity!

Freedom for all prisoners of the Intifada, from Amsterdam to Palestine!

[Follow Samidoun on Telegram link]

Originally posted November 8th at: masarbadil.org/en/2024/11/5364/

There is no place for Zionism, racism and fascism in the squares and stadiums of Europe

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The Executive Committee of the Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement commented on the events that took place in the streets of Amsterdam and the reactions of the racist Dutch regime that targeted Arab and progressive youth and supporters of Palestine. These repressive attacks continue to target the free revolutionary voices that defend Palestinian rights and reject the Zionist war of extermination in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, instead of the Netherlands preventing the entry of racist hooligan fans of Zionist football clubs and holding them accountable for their assaults on the population. These racist football hooligans participate directly in the crimes of the Zionist enemy and consider themselves an integral part of the ranks of the Zionist army; they form armed colonial militias and carry out daily attacks on our people in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank and call for the displacement of the Palestinian people and desecration of Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The Masar Badil Movement salutes the Arab and progressive youth and supporters of Palestine in Amsterdam who stood up for justice and the Palestinian people, confronting the racist Zionist crowd that tore up the Palestinian flag, provoking popular sentiment and the supporters of justice and humanity as they chanted in support of the genocide waged by the Zionist occupation army against our people in occupied Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip.

The fans of the Zionist clubs, especially “Maccabi Tel Aviv”, essentially form a militia affiliated with the Zionist army in Palestine, routinely incite against the Palestinian people and openly call for the killing of Palestinian athletes. This time, their fascist nature was revealed in the streets of Amsterdam.

Accordingly, we call to confront every attempt to whitewash the crimes of the Zionist regime under the banner of “sports.” We also call for ending the relationship with Zionist sports clubs, boycotting them, and preventing them from participating in the stadiums and arenas of Europe, as sports fans did by confronting South Africa during the apartheid regime.

We call on our Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities and all forces of solidarity with our people in the Netherlands and other European countries to confront the so-called “fans of Israeli teams” and to confront their racist activities — led by Israeli security teams and Mossad members inside the embassies of the Zionist entity — that promote genocide and mobilize the Zionist football hooligans in order to divert attention from the Zionist-U.S. war crimes that they are committing continually in the Gaza Strip.

We call on fans of European sports teams to declare their position rejecting racism, fascism and the ongoing Zionist aggression against Palestine and Lebanon.

Together towards boycotting Zionist sports teams and confronting the genocide in Palestine and Lebanon!
No place for Zionism, racism and fascism in the squares and stadiums of Europe!
Immediate freedom for the detained supporters of Palestine in Dutch prisons!

Durham Spark - Durham, North Carolina, USA

Monday, November 11, 2024