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Jewish, Israeli Organizations Mobilize to Aid Victims of Antisemitic Attacks in Amsterdam
Israeli soccer fans under assault, near Amsterdam Central station, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Nov. 8, 2024, in this still image obtained from a social media video. X/iAnnet/via REUTERS
Jewish and Israeli organizations mobilized to support victims with efforts on the ground just hours after Israeli soccer fans were attacked by mobs in Amsterdam on Thursday night and into Friday morning.
Maccabi World Union (MWU), which describes itself as “the world’s largest Jewish sports and education organization,” opened an emergency assistance center in Holland to aid fans who were still there.
“Maccabi World Union and Maccabi Israel are working together with Maccabi Holland to assist Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam,” MWU wrote in a statement on Instagram. “A support center has been set up at the offices of Maccabi Holland, and volunteers are ready to transport fans to the center if needed.”
The center, which was visited by the mayor of Amsterdam, has reportedly helped hundreds of fans who are receiving support until they board flights to Israel. The assistance fans have received includes transportation, hotel lodging, food, and security.
Chabad in Amsterdam also assisted following the attacks. The Hasidic group posted on X on Friday, “Chabad emissaries coordinated hundreds of volunteers from the Jewish community in Amsterdam, picking up stranded and wounded Jews from across the city all, and bringing them to the shelter.”
It added, “From there, they were able to fly out on an emergency return flight to Israel. Others will be spending Shabbat with Chabad.”
The Jewish Agency also offered to support the victims. The organization’s chairman, Major General (res.) Doron Almog, said, “We are shocked by the attack on Jews and Israelis simply because of their Jewish identity in the streets of Amsterdam, exactly 86 years after Kristallnacht [the infamous Nazi assault on the German Jewish community]. We will expand the program to strengthen communities and increase their resilience, to ensure that every Jew, anywhere in the world, will never feel alone.”
Kristallnacht, also known as the “Night of Broken Glass,” unfolded on Nov. 9-10, 1938, when Nazi forces and German civilians destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues, leaving at least 91 Jews dead and 30,000 Jewish men arrested and sent to concentration camps. Over 7,000 Jewish-owned stores were looted.
Almost 86 years later to the exact day, hundreds of Israeli fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv reported facing a wave of violence from antisemitic, anti-Israel gangs of men late Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday. They were attacked before and after Maccabi Tel Aviv lost its match against the Dutch soccer team AFC Ajax as part of the UEFA Europa League.
Numerous graphic videos circulating on social media showed several street fights and Israelis being chased down the street with knives and sticks, beaten unconscious, and even run over by cars. In multiple incidents shared on social media, Israeli soccer fans were forced by their attackers to say “Free Palestine.” Some Israelis reportedly barricaded themselves in buildings, shops, and other places in the city to avoid the attacks.
“So far, it is known that five people have been taken to the hospital and 62 individuals have been arrested,” Amsterdam Police said in a statement.
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands expressed “deep horror and shock” over the attack during a phone call with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to a readout from Herzog’s office. The king also said, “We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again.”
Some observers argued the attacks were premeditated against the Israelis, while others claimed it was retaliation for some Israeli fans chanting anti-Arab slogans in the streets before the game and tearing down at least two Palestinian flags in the city.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had been “attacked, abused, and pelted with fireworks” around the city by “antisemitic hit-and-run squads.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered planes to be dispatched to the Dutch city to bring the fans home to Israel.
“In light of the recent events in Amsterdam, our hearts go out to the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans who faced such distressing circumstances,” MWU wrote. “It’s a stark reminder of the challenges faced by communities worldwide.”
The post Jewish, Israeli Organizations Mobilize to Aid Victims of Antisemitic Attacks in Amsterdam first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.