Violent attacks against fans of the visiting team occurred on the sidelines of a football match between Amsterdam and the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv in November. Five men have now been convicted.
A Dutch court has convicted five men of violent attacks on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam. The court found the men guilty, among other things, of attacking and kicking supporters of the Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv on the street and of inciting violence in internet chat groups. The violent attacks at the beginning of November were condemned by numerous countries as anti-Semitic.
During the violent riots, five Israelis were so seriously injured that they had to be treated in hospital. According to police, 20 to 30 others suffered minor injuries. According to the police, the attackers responded to a call for attacks against Jews published on online networks.
Half a year in prison
According to the verdict, a 32-year-old should go to prison for six months because he gave one of the victims “a karate kick that almost caused him to fall against a tram,” as the Amsterdam newspaper “Het Parool” reported from the courtroom. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the man played a leading role in the attacks on supporters of the Maccabi Tel Aviv club on November 7th and 8th.
Videos of him kicking and punching people were shown in the courtroom. However, the court’s verdict fell well short of the public prosecutor’s demand of two years.
Three of the five cases discussed involved violence and bodily harm, while the remaining two cases involved the exchange of information on social networks calling for attacks on supporters of the Israeli football club. Two defendants, aged 24 and 26, each received prison sentences of one month, and a 26-year-old was sentenced to ten weeks in prison. A 19-year-old was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
Criticism of judgments
The judge said, according to Dutch media reports, that the penalties were higher than usual for similar violent crimes, but given the seriousness of the crime and the context in which it was committed, a prison sentence was appropriate.
The Dutch Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) criticized the sentences as too lenient. Given the “anti-Semitic character” of the violence, it is a “regrettable signal” that the sentences were lower than those demanded by the public prosecutor’s office, said CIDI director Naomi Mestrum, according to a report by the ANP news agency. Both the defendants and the prosecution have 14 days to file an appeal.
According to police, Maccabi fans were also violent
On the sidelines of the football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv, pro-Palestinian rioters attacked and mistreated Israeli fans. According to the prosecution, calls for a “hunt for Jews” were made in digital chat groups.
The acts of violence sparked international outrage. Israel and Dutch politicians spoke of anti-Semitic violence. Around 60 victims are now demanding compensation. According to the police, Maccabi fans were also violent. They rioted, shouted anti-Arab slogans and tore Palestinian flags from the walls of houses. The Dutch judiciary is still investigating around 40 people, including Israelis.
Against the background of the attack on Israel by the radical Islamic Hamas on October 7th last year and the resulting war in the Gaza Strip, many countries are recording a significant increase in anti-Semitic violence.