Testimonies and forensic evidence collected by the Dutch police and Israeli security services, along with videos gathered by various security forces and intercepted messages from organizers of the pogrom against Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans in Amsterdam and provided to investigators show that the violence was premeditated and not spontaneous as initially believed.
In addition, the attacks do not appear to be a response to provocations by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans as has been suggested in Dutch media.
Violent mobs attack Israeli tourists in Amsterdam
According to testimonies of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, they were escorted by police only as far as the train station after leaving the stadium at the end of their team's Europa League match against Ajax. However, they reported that no security had been present as they boarded trains and arrived at the city's central station.
Upon leaving the station, a large mob was waiting for them in different locations around the city. The attackers had been equipped in advance with tools such as knives, clubs and brass knuckles, along with smoke grenades and firecrackers. According to the evidence, taxi and Uber drivers were active partners in the pogrom and shared the location of Israelis in internal group chats.
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Pro-Palestinian mob lynches Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam
(Photo: X/iAnnet/via Reuters)
The message conveyed to each of those rioters was clear: "Attack anyone who speaks Hebrew, wears Jewish symbols or comes with a yellow-blue shirt (Maccabi's colors)."
Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry alerted Dutch police in advance of a planned pro-Palestinian protest outside the Johan Cruyff Arena, but Israeli fans weren’t informed of the potential danger. This lack of communication left them unprepared for the violence that followed, attributed partly to insufficient planning by Amsterdam’s police.
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A pro-Palestinian protester before Maccabi Tel Aviv's game against Ajax
(Photo: Jeroen Jumelet / ANP / AFP)
The assailants, who refrained from using knives, reportedly aimed to inflict severe beatings on the fans as a show of solidarity with Gaza. Many recorded the assaults, allegedly to further humiliate their victims.
Initial reports of missing fans mostly involved those who had hidden, returned late to their hotels or whose phones ran out of battery. In the first hours, the Shin Bet security agency offered to dispatch a special team to locate the missing fans, though it was ultimately deemed unnecessary.
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