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How Do We Stop Pogroms and Riots in Amsterdam, Germany — and America?

Anti-Israel protesters face Dutch police during a banned demonstration in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Nov. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Esther Verkaik

Jews hunted and beaten in the streets of Amsterdam, the same happens four days later in Berlin: both are connected to the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom of 1938.

Yet beyond the antisemitism, something strange is happening: police protection was mostly absent, most of those arrested have been released, and the mayor of Amsterdam has actually apologized for her earlier condemnation, now blaming the attack (at least partly) on the Jewish victims.

America is not immune from this disturbing trend, but we can stop it if we try. Here’s what you need to know.

Israel’s Maccabi football (soccer) team had just finished playing Amsterdam’s Ajax team, when the attack squads struck. As fans left the stadium, the attackers hunted, chased, and mercilessly beat any victims who couldn’t prove they weren’t Jewish.

Meticulously planned in advance by members of Amsterdam’s Muslim population, some were armed with clubs, or even small explosives. Four days later, the same happened after a football match in Berlin.

Israeli intelligence had warned Dutch authorities in advance but Holland did not take action. Numerous victims say that police were nowhere to be found for hours.

Some Dutch police habitually refuse to protect Jewish communities on the basis of “moral objections.” In a dark irony, some police even refuse to protect Holland’s Holocaust museum: making it a symbol not only of Holland’s dark and horrific past, but also of Holland’s dark and horrific present.

Police commanders apparently take these antisemitic “moral” objections seriously, thus legitimizing a horrific hatred that should not be tolerated in the slightest.

In a shocking turn of events, Amsterdam’s mayor apologized to Holland’s Muslim community for calling the pogrom a “pogrom” and (incorrectly) accused the Jewish victims of being “also violent.” Out of an unknown number of attackers, only 63 were arrested, and all but four were released.

The subsequent attack in Berlin followed an almost identical pattern. When police do not protect Jewish communities, when intelligence agencies ignore warnings, when perpetrators are not brought to justice, Europe sends a message loud and clear: we accept this. Despite superficial condemnations, Europe’s actions invite even more antisemitic and anti-Western violence.

This is nothing new.

I was in Chicago when thousands turned out to a “protest against Israeli policies,” waiving Nazi flags, shouting “death to Jews,” and burning papier-mâché Jews in effigy. Despite headlines, this was neither a “protest” nor was it against “Israeli policies” but rather a violent hate march against American Jews. The year was 2009.

I came with a small group of five counter-protesters until the police ordered us to leave, saying they could not protect us. While I understand the officers were just trying to keep us safe, their decision actually violated the very spirit of American democracy.

For example, in 1954, when hate mobs in Little Rock, Arkansas, tried to prevent Black students from attending public school (as ordered by the Supreme Court decision, Brown vs. Board of Education) the local police were overwhelmed — so President Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne. Eisenhower understood that the law is the law, and civil rights are civil rights: not only for the loudest and most violent, but for everyone.

Flash forward to today, when Jewish students are forcibly blocked from entering school buildings on university campuses: a civil rights violation that, legally speaking, is almost identical to the one in 1954. Just like in Little Rock, just like in Amsterdam and Berlin and Chicago, the police are nowhere to be found.

But unlike Little Rock, neither the schools nor the White House did their civic or legal duty, and the violence has gotten progressively worse: because we, as a society, have allowed it.

How did it start?

Modern antisemitism became especially organized at the Durban conference in 2001. At this United Nations sponsored event, which included Nazi rhetoric and anti-Jewish attacks, the Palestinian government announced a long term strategy, later entitled the “diplomatic intifada.”

As part of this plan, Palestinian groups and their allies (such as Iran and Qatar) invested billions of dollars and decades of work into shaping opinions, education, and political lobbying in the West. Their efforts have been successful, in part because Western societies have allowed them to be.

What can be done?

There are some campuses where anti-Jewish violence has not succeeded, despite attempts. For example, when a small minority of Arab students at Israel’s Haifa University supported the October 7 massacre on social media, they were immediately subject to suspensions, mediation, and disciplinary actions (such as mandated community service). As a result, Haifa (both the city and the university) remains a bastion of Jewish-Arab coexistence, one of the most flourishing examples in Israel, even during this time of war.

When students became physically violent on certain American campuses, such as Vanderbilt and Dartmouth, university officials promptly called the police and pressed appropriate charges, leaving the campuses free and safe for all. Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier says that teaching real tolerance on an ongoing basis at the classroom level, combined with appropriate enforcement when necessary, has proved a winning combination on his campus.

In short, when we, as a society, refuse to tolerate hate crimes, they decrease. When we allow them, we invite more.

As far back as October 2023, presidential candidate Donald Trump stated that if elected, he would cancel student visas from foreign students who engage in antisemitic violence. Since becoming President-elect this month, Trump declared that campus antisemitism violates civil rights laws, and accordingly, universities that permit such violence will lose their academic accreditation with respect to Federal funding.

Europe and the United States already have appropriate laws that balance free speech with civil rights and basic human safety. When we properly enforce our laws, our societies reflect our values and flourish. When we fail, our societies deteriorate. The tide of anti-Jewish and anti-Western hate is not invincible, but it is up to us to take appropriate measures, to stand by our values, and to protect our world.

Daniel Pomerantz is the CEO of RealityCheck, an organization dedicated to deepening public conversation through robust research studies and public speaking.

The post How Do We Stop Pogroms and Riots in Amsterdam, Germany — and America? 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.

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