I was not going to write a post about the violence in Amsterdam involving Maccabi Tel Aviv football hooligans last week until I read The Spectator’s pack of propaganda and lies.
The following is a reposting of the archived version of the Spectator article. That it begins with what could possibly be taken as a not so veiled threat about London is unsettling.
People gather on Dam Square for the anniversary commemoration paying tribute to victims of Hamas' 7 October attack, Amsterdam (Credit: Getty images)
Last night in Amsterdam, a scene unfolded that should send shockwaves across Europe: hundreds of Jews were hunted and beaten by mobs following a football match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax. Whether a spontaneous flare-up or organised assault, terrified fans were forced to jump into the city’s canals to escape violence. At least ten were injured, and three remain missing. As Israel dispatched emergency flights to evacuate its citizens, one must ask: how long until this happens in London or elsewhere in the UK?
The Netherlands must confront this issue immediately, not only for the safety of its Jewish residents and visitors but for the stability of its own society. The embassy of Israel in the US wrote that the attackers ‘proudly shared their violent acts on social media’. Who does that remind you of? The world has already witnessed this grotesque display from Hamas and Palestinian terrorists on 7 October. Now, in Amsterdam, we see echoes of the same perverse pride in brutality.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called the attacks ‘a planned and organised pogrom’. The violence erupted as Jews in Europe were about to mark the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht – a chilling historical irony highlighted by Deborah Lipstadt, the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. She rightly noted that this incident occurred ‘two days before the grim anniversary of Reichspogromnacht in 1938’, when Nazi-sanctioned pogroms swept the German Reich. Now, in 2024, are we seeing the spectre of such hate rear its head in Europe once more?
While the reaction from Israeli government figures to the violence in Amsterdam has been intense, it’s worth noting that incidents involving attacks on football fans are not uncommon during European matches. Violence, especially at high-stakes games, has been seen before involving British and other European supporters. However, while these confrontations can be brutal, the targeted nature of the attacks on Jewish fans, coupled with the accompanying anti-Semitic rhetoric, distinguishes this incident from typical football-related violence and heightens its significance.
For those who say this is an isolated incident, look closer. The UK’s police forces have themselves admitted to inadequately handling the anti-Israel marches that swept through our streets. These protests, rife with anti-Semitic chants and rhetoric, were allowed to escalate unchecked under both Conservative and Labour governments. This failure isn’t just an oversight – it is a warning that we are dangerously close to allowing the same mob violence to happen here. Keir Starmer should take note: violence is not always carried out by ‘far-right’ perpetrators against pure and innocent immigrants. It is an affliction that can originate from any extremist ideology. While racist attacks against immigrants are rightly dealt with swiftly, a different standard appears to be applied when Jews are the targets.
Consider the infamous chants calling to ‘globalise the intifada’. What does that mean if not exporting violent, anti-Jewish sentiments into our own countries? The fact that such rhetoric is tolerated, even protected under the guise of free speech, speaks volumes about the selective indignation of our governments and law enforcement. This is not theoretical. When calls for ‘jihad’ were heard in London, the response from the police was not arrest but a feeble attempt at theological discourse, debating the meaning of jihad rather than addressing its real-world implications. What happened in Amsterdam is the logical conclusion of allowing such things to go unchecked.
Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s Foreign Minister, confirmed he was in contact with Dutch authorities, but local Jewish voices also reported that the police presence was insufficient, leaving Maccabi fans vulnerable once they left the stadium. Journalist Raz Amir captured the outrage of one fan who, injured and bloody at Amsterdam airport, said, ‘The Dutch police sold us so that the Arabs would lynch us.’ This echoes Eli Beer, president of United Hatzalah, who stated, ‘This is happening in the heart of Europe, and it’s only the beginning.’
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, issued a stark warning: today’s victims are Israelis, but ‘tomorrow it will be you Europeans’. His words may sound dramatic, but they hold an uncomfortable truth. Amsterdam’s failure to protect Jews isn’t just a failing of one city – it’s an indictment of Europe’s collective will to defend its Jewish communities against rising extremism.
In the UK, our leaders must recognise that their responses to similar threats have been weak and inconsistent. The shadow of Amsterdam looms large over British society, a stark reminder that we must act decisively against all forms of racist violence. If we continue to apply double standards, excusing anti-Jewish rhetoric while condemning other forms of hate, we will find ourselves facing our own crisis sooner than we think.
The question isn’t whether what happened in Amsterdam could happen in London. It is when. And when it does, will we be prepared, or will we be issuing statements of shock and horror as we scramble to catch up? Jews won’t be singing ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ and ‘Imagine’. Many will be too busy leaving. The time for decisive action is now, before the warnings turn into reality.
Jonathan Sacerdoti is a broadcaster and writer covering politics, culture and religion
The Spectator “story” is completely contrary to the tweets I have read and videos I have watched. It irks me that Sacerdoti would quote Deborah Lipstadt who made the vile “joke” about a “beeper” during the Israeli-American Council event in September when so many innocent people of all ages were killed as a result of Israel’s sadistic operation in Lebanon.
The author of the Spectator piece, Jonathan Sacerdoti has a storied background working for the Beeb, Channel 4, Sky News and many other legacy media outlets. He also writes for the Jewish Chronicle, the credentials for which were recently blown to smithereens when it was revealed that one of their writers, “Elon Perry” real name, Eli Yifrach, claimed to be an IDF veteran and just made things up which the JC published apparently without any oversight.
According to his interesting profile on Wikipedia, Jonathan Sacerdoti “is a Special Correspondent for the Jewish Chronicle newspaper,[17] covering investigations[18] features[19] and major news stories.[20]…In 2020, Sacerdoti was part of a consortium of business and media figures [21][22] which acquired the London-based Jewish Chronicle newspaper.”
What actually happened in Amsterdam on November 7th and 8th last week with Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans in Amsterdam for a match?
Please see the following tweets and videos with information which helps to tell the tale of what transpired
Pleasenote that this post is too long for email. As such, just click on the tile to view it in its entirety on Substack.
Most unfortunately the Twitter downloader isn’t working for me at the moment. As such, please click the images below to watch the videos on X where indicated.
Note these tweets by David Clark, former Foreign Office adviser to Robin Cook.
David Clark’s tweets continued from above on November 9th are as follows.
“I can’t see the original article, but there are three material differences between this version and the film clip. First, the chanting of Maccabi fans is no longer referred to explicitly - and correctly - as racist. It is now described in more neutral terms as “anti-Arab”. 3/
“Second, footage that in the film was described as showing Maccabi fans attacking locals is not referred to in the story at all. Instead there is a still photograph, but no description of what it depicts. 4/
“Third, the timeline of events, which was described clearly in the film, is now blurred so that the first examples of violence against Maccabi fans could be taken by the reader to predate the incident in which a Palestinian flag was torn down. 5/
“News organisations sometimes get things wrong and should be willing to change content accordingly. But they should do so transparently. This looks like a news organisation manipulating the truth as the result of private pressure. @SkyNews need to explain themselves. End/
This lady had taken some of the footage which media outlets were disseminating apparently without giving her proper credit for the material.
Please watch this video published November 10th on the Dutch YouTube channel, Left Laser.
Owen Jones published a video with a wee rant about Sky News being caught editing and changing what it had published with regard to the events in Amsterdam.
Lastly, in this video Rifat Jawaid explains what Sky News edited out in its revised edited video seemingly to remove any blame from Israelis for the violence with Arabs and others in Amsterdam.
Sky News has stunned everyone in the UK with its extraordinary act of self censorship as the media platform deleted the only honest reporting coming from Amsterdam on the recent attacks on Israeli fans.
Sky deleted even the edited video before posting the edited version of its edited video. The changes in the new video show the clout of Netanyahu on the global media.
As he explains in the video YouTube has restricted viewing of his videos because Rifat included what appears to be the original footage which we are apparently not allowed to see or know about unless you provide Big Brother YouTube with your ID or credit card.
Declan O’Mulrooney provides a good overview and commentary in the following Substack post:
All of this nastiness seems to me to fit nicely into the alleged “conspiracy theory” of race wars which the nogoodiks will create to pit us against one another.
A young Dutch 14-year-old teaches how to be a serious journalist!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySHIOYyJ95A
Apparently there were many IDF soldiers among the Zionazis in Amsterdam...