Israelis fleeing antisemitic mob in Amsterdam say Dutch police participated in the pogrom

‘The policeman shouted at us, he hit me with the baton he had in his hand and injured my leg.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

After the antisemitic violence that erupted last Thursday following the Maccabi-Ajax match, Israelis fleeing the mob told Channel 12 that some of the Dutch police participated in the violence.

Maccabi fans said Dutch security guarded them before the match, but afterward, the police had abandoned the Israeli football fans.

One Maccabi fan, Ariel, described disembarking from a train at the end of the match. He was accosted by an anti-Israel man shouting at them, but he ignored him.

However, Ariel said they were soon surrounded by a crowd waiting for them outside of their hotel.

After shouting at them and cursing, the mob began to run after them.

Ariel was relieved to see a Dutch policeman standing on the corner and pleaded with him to help.

However, instead of assisting him, the policeman beat Ariel with his baton.

“The police shouted at us, and the policeman hit me with the baton he had in his hand and injured my leg. My leg changed color. He tried to give me another blow and attack me, but I managed to run away,” Ariel said.

Ariel had no choice but to continue running as he saw his friends being attacked and the Dutch police standing there doing nothing.

We had to defend ourselves by ourselves. Only after everything blew up in the media did they escort us from the hotel to the airport and try to give us a sense of security. All I did was ask the policeman for help, and he hit me,” Ariel added.

Two Israeli brothers and their grandfather almost got arrested by Dutch police for defending themselves from the mob.

Yeheli Eliasi, 14 told Channel 12 that people were throwing firecrackers at him, his brother and grandfather repeatedly.

They wanted to go to their hotel but didn’t know how to safely under the circumstances, so they removed the legs from a bed frame for self-defense.

“Suddenly, two cars arrived with undercover policemen in them who were going to arrest us. They told us to lie on the floor, put down the sticks, and started kicking us. I was kicked in the hand, my grandfather was kicked in the leg, and my little brother started crying from fear,” Yeheli said.

They finally were able to explain their situation, and after thinking it over, the police decided to take the Israelis to their hotel.

However, Yeheli said, “As we got into the car, we were surprised to see stickers saying ‘Palestine liberation against Israel,’ and the crowd repeatedly yelled at them through the window.”

Amsterdam pogromantisemitic violencepolice brutality