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ADDS Quotes, Details and Background
Dutch parliamentarians clashed Wednesday in a heated debate discussing the attack on Israeli fans after last week’s soccer match, with some condemning others and others urging unity.
The Netherlands is still grappling with the political fallout from last week’s violence in Amsterdam, when Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were assaulted by men on scooters in several locations in the capital.
Last Thursday, five Maccabi fans were briefly hospitalized after being beaten after a match against Ajax, an incident Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schauf called “pure anti-Semitism”.
After the match, groups of men on scooters involved Maccabi fans in “hit-and-run” incidents in various parts of the city.
Police said the attackers were mobilized by calls on social media to target Jews.
Far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders, leader of the coalition’s largest party, said the perpetrators of the violence against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were “all Muslims” and “mostly Moroccans.”
The anti-Islam Wilders party called for the attackers to be prosecuted “for terrorism.”
“This is the first time Jews have been hunted since World War II,” Wilders said, adding: “I’m tired of being criticized for telling the truth.”
However, the firebrand lawmaker drew the ire of opposition parties for “adding fuel to the fire.”
Left-wing parties unanimously condemned the violence but called for dialogue with the Muslim community rather than “dividing the country”.
“I share the condemnation of the violence in Amsterdam, and there was certainly anti-Semitic violence,” left-wing opposition leader Frans Timmermans said.
“This country needs politicians to unite the people and find solutions, and you’re just fanning the flames,” Timmermans told Wilders.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema on Tuesday called the attack a “toxic cocktail” of anti-Semitism and hooliganism.
Tensions escalated over pre-match incidents, including anti-Arab chants by Maccabi fans, the burning of a Palestinian flag in the city’s central square and the destruction of a taxi.
Amsterdam police said after the peaceful match, there were reports of calls to attack Jews on social media.
The violence occurred against a backdrop of heightened tensions and an increasingly polarized Europe following an increase in anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and Islamophobic attacks since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Representatives of Amsterdam’s Muslim community said their members were under great pressure in the aftermath of the attack.
“We are at a stage where our ties as citizens of Amsterdam are under strain,” Achraf El Johari said.
“I don’t dispute that there was certainly talk of hating Jews… but you can’t draw a line to include the whole group,” he told AT5 television station.
The Dutch Prime Minister indicated on Friday that the government plans to present concrete measures to tackle anti-Semitism.
Eight people remain in custody as a result of the violence.
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