‘Jews burn best’ – 154 Dutch soccer fans arrested over antisemitic chants

Last week, supporters of Dutch soccer team chanted “Hamas, Hamas, all the Jews to the gas.”

By World Israel News Staff

Some 154 soccer fans were arrested by police in The Netherlands late Saturday evening after singing an antisemitic soccer song, including lyrics referencing the burning of Jews and the Nazi party’s military branch, the SS.

The fans were reportedly riding the subway en route to the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam ahead of a game when they began singing the antisemitic anthem.

“My father was in the commandos, my mother was in the SS, together they burned Jews because Jews burn the best,” the fans sang.

In a statement, Dutch police said that “supporters were asked several times to stop singing” but refused to do so.

Authorities arrested the men on “group insult” charges and fined them each $570.

The detained men were fans of the AZ Alkmaar soccer club, which was facing off against Amsterdam’s Ajax, a team which has been historically associated with Jews.

“The Central Jewish Committee is satisfied with the decision to intervene and tackle antisemitism one step at a time,” said the head of the local Jewish advocacy group, Chanan Hertzberger, in a statement to Dutch media.

The match between Ajax and AZ Alkmaar ended in a goalless, 0-0 draw.

Notably, just a few days before that match, there was antisemitic chanting at a previous game between Ajax and Feyenoord. At that game, which took place on April 5th, a supporter of Feyenoord yelled “Hamas, Hamas, all the Jews to the gas,” outside of the stadium.

Other Feyenoord fans cheered and repeated the chant.

Naomi Mestrom, the director of Dutch-Jewish NGO CIDI, told RTL News that the incident made her feel “despondent.”

Mestrom said that antisemitic chant was “downright Jew-hatred,” emphasizing that her organization would help authorities identify the man who started the chanting.

“We are going to press charges against the person who held the microphone,” she said.

“I think there are excellent images [of the man]. And if Feyenoord believes they no longer want this kind of thing, they will also cooperate [with the investigation].”

European antisemitismHollandNetherlandsSoccer