The violence that erupted in Amsterdam last week was sparked by “a toxic cocktail” of hooliganism and antisemitism, according to a detailed report published by the city’s mayor.
The city remains gripped by high tensions days after violence flared around a football match last Thursday between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
A senior police officer warned on Tuesday of calls for more rioting in Amsterdam after dozens of people armed with sticks and firecrackers set a tram on fire overnight.
In a 12-page letter, Femke Halsema, the city’s mayor, provided the most comprehensive account yet of the racist animosity that has engulfed Amsterdam for almost a week.
In her report, produced with Amsterdam’s public prosecutor and police, Halsema concluded: “What happened over the past few days was a toxic cocktail of antisemitism, football hooliganism and anger over the war in Palestine and Israel and other parts of the Middle East.”
Halsema presented the preliminary findings to an emergency meeting of the city council on Tuesday. She lamented to the council that “injustice has been done to both Jews in our city as well as people of minorities who sympathise with the Palestinians”.
The mayor stressed that “even though a more complete picture emerged” of Thursday evening’s events, “and all sorts of terrible things happened, it in no way negates that a ‘hunt for Jews’” was called for.
Ten residents of Israel were among those arrested, the report said, in the first public acknowledgment that Maccabi supporters may have broken the law.
The report shows that police were concerned about “fanatic” supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv a day before Thursday’s game, and confirmed police reports that Maccabi hooligans, some in face coverings, pulled down a Palestinian flag, shouted slogans and attacked a taxi with their belts. The police later saw “online calls that appeared for taxi drivers to mobilise” against the Maccabi fans.
At 11am on Thursday, the mayor and police held a meeting that mainly concerned “the aggression of the Maccabi supporters and the reaction of taxi drivers to it”. A call was made to the Israeli ambassador before the match, asking that they made sure the Israeli government was clear that “sports is not mixed with politics”.
By Thursday afternoon, police noticed that messages on social media had increased “indicating the willingness to take action against Maccabi supporters”, with a tone that had “hardened” with “antisemitic terms being used”.
That night, a large group of Maccabi supporters walked around the city centre, some with sticks in their hands, and committed acts of vandalism, the report said.
After midnight, local groups committed “violent hit-and-run actions aimed at Israeli supporters”, it said. “Rioters move in small groups, on foot, by scooter or car, briefly attack Maccabi supporters and then disappear again.”
While Dutch social media posts had concluded that “young Moroccan Amsterdammers in particular have turned against Jewish and Israeli Maccabi supporters”, the report said: “The precise identity of the perpetrators must be established in a police investigation.”
It said: “Antisemitism cannot be answered with other racism: the safety of one group must not be at the expense of the safety of another.”
Five people needed hospital treatment and up to 30 were injured in the violence. Dutch police said on Monday they had arrested five more people for their suspected involvement in attacks on Israeli football supporters. The suspects are men aged 18 to 37 living in the Netherlands, police said.
The Dutch prime minister, Dick Schoof, a former intelligence chief brought into office under a coalition deal with the far-right, Islamophobic PVV party of Geert Wilders, said “hard action” was needed to combat “unadulterated antisemitic violence” against Maccabi fans.
On Monday he described reports of violence, vandalism and racism by the Israeli club’s fans as being in a “different category”, although he said they would also be investigated.
World leaders were quick to condemn the attacks on Israelis, including Joe Biden who called them “despicable”, but they have not spoken in detail about the behaviour of Maccabi supporters, including violence against Dutch people.
The report said a full independent inquiry was under way into the violence as well as the actions of Dutch authorities, before, during and after the match.
On Tuesday, Olivier Dutilh, of the Amsterdam police force, said police were concerned about the threat of more unrest. The city has a large Muslim community and public feelings have run high over Gaza, with more than 2,500 protests authorised so far this year.
Israel’s national security council has warned its citizens against travelling to the UK and Europe for cultural and sporting events after the attacks. Demonstrations including pro-Palestinian marches have been banned in Amsterdam.
The swift condemnation from the Dutch government comes as the country assesses its role during the second world war. Three-quarters of the Netherlands’ Jewish population were murdered by the Nazis.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
