The opposition Denk Party in the Netherlands has called for legal action against Israeli fans involved in inciting violence before the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Amsterdam on Nov. 7, part of the UEFA Europa League.
In an interview with Anadolu, Sheher Khan, leader and spokesperson of Denk Party's Amsterdam City Council group, criticized Mayor Femke Halsema's use of the term "pogrom" to describe the violence, a word traditionally linked to violent attacks on Jews during the Holocaust.
Khan accused the mayor of offering a biased interpretation of events that failed to account for the provocations by Israeli fans.
According to Khan, tensions were escalated by actions of Israeli fans, who attacked Palestinian symbols, ripped down Palestinian flags, and shouted racist chants like "Death to Arabs" and "There are no more children in Gaza."
"So this caused a lot of emotions in our city, which is already feeling really upset about the genocide that is happening," Khan remarked. "They also attacked some of our cab drivers."
While acknowledging isolated attacks on Jews in recent years, Khan sharply criticized the mayor's use of the term "pogrom," calling it an exaggerated response that unnecessarily stoked fear.
"She could not explain that this was a pogrom," Khan said. "She was saying, 'I wanted to address the feelings of fear and anxiety within the Jewish community.' But in my opinion, you can address the fears of Jews in our city by keeping it factual. If you keep it factual, then you are helping Jews as best as possible as a mayor of our city."
"She fanned the flames of fear by making it much bigger by talking about a pogrom. Also, if you look at the past few years, thousands of Israeli tourists have come here every year, and there has never been this kind of attack on Israeli nationals. There has never been an attack on our Jewish citizens in Amsterdam. It has never happened. And if it had, I would stand beside our Jewish brothers and sisters."
Khan noted the rise in fear among the Jewish community but claimed some politicians were using the situation to further a "far-right racist agenda."
Khan said that details about the detainees were discussed in a municipal council meeting, noting: "I'm really glad to see that 10 citizens with Israeli nationality were arrested out of about 40 in total."
"They are now back in Israel, but I hope the Dutch authorities will ask Israel to bring those offenders back to Amsterdam so we can judge them for their actions if they are found guilty."
During council discussions, it was revealed that Mayor Halsema had tried to reach Prime Minister Dick Schoof to explore the possibility of holding the match without spectators, but was unable to make contact before the game, Khan explained.
"It was a discussion that meant nothing in my opinion because they were talking about not allowing supporters to attend the match. But they were already here. There were already 2,600 Maccabi fans in Amsterdam. My opinion was they should never have been allowed in the first place."
Khan also called on UEFA to impose a ban on Israeli clubs, similar to the one on Russian clubs, due to human rights violations in Gaza.
"We should ban all Israeli football clubs from coming here, just as we did with Russian football clubs. Their country is committing genocide. If they come here, they support genocide," Khan stated. "You know what will happen—exactly what happened last week. So, in my opinion, they should never have been allowed to come to Amsterdam, and they are not welcome."
Khan also argued that extending the protest ban in Amsterdam would not prevent pro-Palestinian activism, saying: "We are not demonstrating because we want to be on the streets every day. We are demonstrating because there is a genocide happening."
Khan added that they would propose a motion to the Amsterdam City Council that addresses the ongoing genocide, stating: "If we don't stop this genocide, the problems and tensions in our society will remain and will continue to surface until the genocide stops."
The events in Amsterdam unfolded after Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters clashed with locals following their team's match against Ajax Amsterdam. Channel 12, a left-wing Israeli news outlet, reported that tensions intensified when Israeli fans removed a Palestinian flag from a building and provoked Arab-origin Dutch taxi drivers.
Social media footage showed large groups of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans chanting anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian slogans.
Earlier, before the match, Israeli fans had angered Dutch supporters by disrupting a moment of silence for victims of deadly floods in Spain, setting off fireworks during the solemn observance.
