Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday in a statement that Thursday night’s pogrom in Amsterdam echoed the events 86 years ago of Kristallnacht, during which Jews were attacked simply for being Jews. The prime minister also marked a line between the events in Amsterdam and the legal assault against the State of Israel at the International Court in The Hague — the United Nations Court located in the Netherlands.
“In both cases, there was dangerous antisemitism, the goal of which was to render helpless the Jews and their state, to deny our state the right of self-defense and to deny our citizens their very right to life,” Netanyahu said.
“Yesterday we marked Kristallnacht … It was a brutal and violent assault against Jews just because they were Jews. Unfortunately, in recent days we saw pictures that recalled that night. On the streets of Amsterdam, antisemitic rioters attacked Jews, Israeli citizens, just because they were Jews.”
However, Netanyahu noted “one great difference” between the vicious attacks on Kristallnacht that launched the start of the worst genocide of the Jewish People in history.
“Today we have a state, government and army of our own. We have the ability, the readiness and the determination to defend ourselves and to demand that others carry out their responsibilities. This is exactly what we have done.”
Immediately following the attacks in Amsterdam, Netanyahu called his Dutch counterpart, Prime Minister Dick Schoof. “He told me that he was ashamed — that is what he said, ‘ashamed’– that such an ugly antisemitic attack had occurred in his country. I demanded that he deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and also protect the Dutch Jewish community. Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Saar and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who went to the Netherlands, did likewise,” Netanyahu said.
“They were waiting for us, terrorists on every street corner and simply tore apart every Israeli that came their way. We were beaten, humiliated, stabbed, run over,” a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan told Israel’s Channel 14 News. “They literally drove on sidewalks in order to run over Jews. Until the Fanatics organization came out to protect the beaten, no one helped us, the police ignored everything that was happening,” the Israeli fan said.
The Netanyahu government and EL AL Airlines, the national carrier, sent 10 rescue planes to evacuate the besieged Israelis.
“On my directive, Transportation Minister Miri Regev dispatched planes that brought back all the Israelis who wished to return to Israel, over 2,000,” Netanyahu said. “I directed the security services to prepare special instructions for Israelis abroad in light of the new situation that has been created since the war.
Israel Police has linked with the Netherlands Police to promote an ongoing investigation into the Amsterdam attacks. Israel Police officers and forensics specialists met fans who returned to Israel on the rescue flights from Amsterdam – including more than 170 witnesses and more than 230 victims — and collected forensic findings from dozens of those they interviewed.
Little has been done to address the virulent antisemitism that seems to have taken hold in the Dutch capital. In Amsterdam, all the attackers who were detained — during and prior to the soccer match — were released by the police except for one.
Not a single attacker was arrested during or after the pogrom itself. Amsterdam police announced that 40 individuals received fines.
“Attacks of this kind threaten not only Israel but endanger the entire world. We have learned something from history: Wild attacks that start against Jews, never end with the Jews. In the end, they spread to all of society, and pass from country to country until they burn all of humanity. Therefore, I expect and demand that every responsible government take strong, vigorous, clear and urgent action,” Netanyahu pointed out.
In any event, the prime minister emphasized that Israel “will do what is necessary to defend ourselves and our citizens. We will never allow the atrocities of history to recur. We will never capitulate to antisemitism or terrorism. We will continue to defend our state and our citizens in every arena, against any threat, especially the Iranian threat.”
