Two pro-Palestinian organizations have denounced the fans of the Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Amsterdam Prosecutor’s Office (Netherlands) for the violent behavior they exhibited hours before the night of persecutions and attacks to which they were subjected and to which the Government of Israel condemned it as a “pogrom,” a historical term used to describe a lynching against the Jewish community.
These are two Belgian organizations: the Hind Rajab foundationnamed after a boy who died in Gaza, and the March 30 Movement of the Belgian activist and politician Dyab Abou Jahjah, who accuse the Maccabi fans of “incitement, violence and vandalism” based on information collected by both associations that point to the fans of the Israeli club for utter anti-Arab chants and desecrate Palestinian flags during their stay in the cityaccording to a statement collected by the Dutch newspaper ‘Parool’.
The Regional Association of Mosques of the Netherlands has also protested against the behavior exhibited by the Maccabi fans and condemned “a selective attitude between politicians and the media” by omitting the responsibility of the Israeli fans in what happened.
Likewise, the association remembers other incidents such as the refusal of Israeli sympathizers to respect the minute of silence for the victims of the floods in Valencia before the opening whistle of the match against Ajax Amsterdam, which ended with a 5-0 in favor of the Dutch team.
“We once again find a double standard in politics and the media. Due to the war in Ukraine, Russian participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has been canceled and Russian football clubs have been excluded from European football. However, Israeli clubs are welcome and participate in everything, despite the genocide in Gaza for which Israel is being tried at the International Court of Justice,” they lament.
At least Four people have been arrested for these attacks but the Dutch Prosecutor’s Office has pointed out that the arrests were made before and during the meeting. Right now no one has been arrested for the night of violence that followed.
Antisemitism
United States, which has declared its unconditional support for Israel and unequivocally condemned the attacks on Maccabi fans, will send its special envoy against anti-Semitism, Deborah Lipstadt, to Europe next week to evaluate what happened with the European authorities.
“I am heartbroken by the information that continues to come from Amsterdam”Lipstadt herself declared on social media before announcing her trip.
“Next week I will go to Europe to meet with European officials and Jewish community leaders to discuss the importance of protecting Jewish communities against the increase in anti-Semitic violence,” he said.
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