Dutch king: ‘We failed the Jews again’

He said that the attacks, which were on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, was reminiscent of “dark and grim times for the Jewish people.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands expressed “deep horror and shock” over attacks against Israelis after Thursday’s Maccabi-Ajax football game in Amsterdam when at least 10 Israelis were injured by a mob and three were missing for nearly 12 hours.

He said that the attacks, which were on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, was reminiscent of “dark and grim times for the Jewish people.”

“We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again,” the Dutch king said to Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a phone call on Friday morning.

The king added that the attacks should be “unequivocally condemned” and urged Dutch authorities to take action to ensure the safety of Jews and Israelis in the Netherlands.

In addition, he urged an investigation into the incident.

In an organized attack, an anti-Israel mob began attacking Israeli Maccabi fans after the match resulting in injuries for over 10 Israelis and three who were missing until they were located on Friday afternoon.

According to reports, the mob attacked Israelis with knives, kicked and punched them, while others tried to run them over with cars.

Many Israelis sought shelter in shops and buildings and were barricaded for hours.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denounced the “unacceptable antisemitic attacks on Israelis.”

Schoof said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the incident and said “the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted.”

Around 60 people were arrested in connection with the attacks.

According to witnesses, Dutch security officials arranged for protection of Israeli fans before the game, but not following the match.

Melhem Asad, a Druze Maccabi fan who spoke Arabic to the mob to confuse them and disrupt their attack on Israelis, told Channel 12, “We felt very safe, but at the end of the game the situation changed completely.”

“The fans were simply abandoned, we all got on the trains and headed for the hotels, and the local police just messed up, big time. They didn’t secure us, they didn’t watch over us, we felt very exposed,” he said.

According to a report, Dutch officials received three separate warnings from 7:00 pm Thursday that an attack on Israelis was being planned, but didn’t act on the alerts.

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