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Netanyahu Dispatches Airplanes to Rescue Israeli Soccer Fans Following Violent ‘Pogrom’ Attacks in Amsterdam
Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters are guarded by police after violence targeting Israeli football fans broke out in Amsterdam overnight, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Nov. 8, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ami Shooman/Israel Hayom
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered planes to be dispatched to Amsterdam to bring home Israeli fans of the soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv who were violently assaulted in the city by a mob in what witnesses and leaders described as pre-planned antisemitic assaults on late Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday.
“The Prime Minister has directed that two rescue planes be sent immediately to assist our citizens. The harsh pictures of the assault on our citizens in Amsterdam will not be overlooked,” read a statement from Netanyahu’s office. “Prime Minister Netanyahu views the horrifying incident with utmost gravity and demands that the Dutch government and security forces take vigorous and swift action against the rioters, and ensure the safety of our citizens.”
Both former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and current Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon called the violence a “pogrom.” Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X that he has been in constant contact with the Israel Police, who have been coordinating with Dutch law enforcement to “rescue the Israeli citizens, and to investigate the serious lynching incidents in the Netherlands.”
“Fans who went to see a soccer game encountered antisemitism and were attacked with unimaginable cruelty just because of their Jewishness and Israeliness. I condemn any attempt to make the victim guilty,” Ben-Gvir added. “This is not only an injury to Jews and Israelis, but a warning sign to all European countries against radical Muslim violence. Those who turn a blind eye to Islamic terrorism in the Middle East will meet it at home in Europe and the West. Today the victims were Israelis, tomorrow it will be you Europeans.”
Israel’s newly minted Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he was in contact with authorities in the Netherlands about the violence and posted a hotline for Israelis and Jews in danger.
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. Ajax won the match 5-0.
Numerous graphic videos circulating on social media showed multiple street fights, and Israelis being chased down the street with knives and sticks, beaten and run over by cars. In multiple incidents shared on social media, Israeli soccer fans were forced by their attackers to say “Free Palestine.” Some Israeli soccer fans 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.
According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, up to 20 of its nationals were injured.
Police initially said they were also investigating reports of abductions during the attacks and a potential hostage situation. However, Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that all Israelis had been contacted and accounted for, according to Ynet.
An Israeli who survived the attacks, Yarin Hay Itzhak, wrote about his experience on X and said in a Hebrew-language post that he was punched in the face and kicked in the stomach. He was in Amsterdam with two friends, one of whom “was kidnapped and bled for hours” but ultimately survived the onslaught.
“It’s unbelievable that we had to run away from thousands of Muslims on the streets of Amsterdam and get some Israelis into KFC when the police are out there in small numbers and don’t know how to handle the event,” he added. “They didn’t bring a doctor to everyone who was injured there because ‘there is no way to help you.’ The Muslims tried to run over, kidnap, beat, and murder. Everyone who is there, catch a flight and return to Israel.”
Dutch nationals of Turkish descent reportedly chased a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan after stealing his passport and then pushed him into a river, according to Ynet. Maariv reported that there was at least one attempt to kidnap an Israeli.
“They waited in groups at every corner, and as soon as they recognized Jews, they started chasing them,” one Israeli who witnessed the violence told Israel’s Kan 11 news. “Others waited near hotels and near the casino in larger groups, and there they also attacked fans. Then others drove by with cars and did not stop honking near hotels in which Israelis are staying.”
“The police were not present at the conclusion of the games, and Muslims were waiting near train stations for Israeli fans and followed them,” another Israeli told Kan 11. “The police only started to intervene after about half an hour to 45 minutes into the attacks, after the attackers threw firecrackers at people and into buildings.”
Local police escorted some of the Israeli soccer fans back to their hotels, the Netherlands’ RTL reported. The attacks took place hours after the Netherlands commemorated the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the infamous Nazi assault on the German Jewish community in 1938.
Danon posted a graphic video of the violence Thursday night on X.
“These are the true faces of the supporters of the radical terrorism we are fighting. The western world needs to wake up now!!” he wrote. “This is the time when the UN should immediately and clearly condemn the violence of the Palestinians and their supporters. The Dutch authorities must take decisive action against terrorism now.”
The Israel’s Embassy to the US also posted a video of the violence on X. “Hundreds of fans of the @MaccabiTLVFC soccer team were ambushed and attacked in Amsterdam tonight as they left the stadium following a game against @AFCAjax,” the post read.” The mob who targeted these innocent Israelis has proudly shared their violent acts on social media.”
The embassy included the number for a hotline that Israelis in Amsterdam can call if they need assistance.
The post Netanyahu Dispatches Airplanes to Rescue Israeli Soccer Fans Following Violent ‘Pogrom’ Attacks in Amsterdam first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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New York Democrats Hesitate to Endorse Far-Left Zohran Mamdani Following Stunning NYC Primary Victory
Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect
Multiple moderate New York Democrats are hesitating to endorse Zohran Mamdani following his victory Tuesday in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, citing concerns over his alleged antisemitism and socialist policies.
Mamdani, the 33‑year‑old state assemblyman and proud democratic socialist, toppled former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a lopsided first‑round win in the Democratic primary for mayor, notching approximately 43.5 percent of first‑choice votes compared to Cuomo’s 36.4%.
Voters in New York City rank their choices in order of their preference. While Mamdani declared victory and Cuomo conceded defeat, the race’s ultimate outcome will technically be decided when every vote is tallied, taking into account the ranked choice count. Mamdani’s victory is all but assured.
Some observers have speculated that Mamdani’s win over an older, high-profile Democrat signifies growing frustration with the party’s status quo and represents a generational change
US Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY), a freshman lawmaker representing a swing-district in Nassau County, slammed Mamdani for his far-left economic agenda and repeated “antisemitism.”
“Socialist Zohran Mamdani is too extreme to lead New York City. His entire campaign has been built on unachievable promises and higher taxes,” Gillen said in a statement. “Beyond that, Mr. Mamdani has called to defund the police and has demonstrated a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing.”
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), a moderate lawmaker representing the Empire State’s 3rd district, also declined to endorse Mamdani, citing “serious concerns.”
“I had serious concerns about Assemblyman Mamdani before yesterday, and that is one of the reasons I endorsed his opponent. Those concerns remain,” Suozzi posted on X.
High-profile Democratic leaders in New York such as Sen. Chuck Schumer, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries have congratulated and complemented Mamdani, but have not yet issued an explicit endorsement. Each lawmaker has indicated interest in meeting with the presumptive Democratic mayoral nominee in New York City to hold discussions prior to making a decision on a formal endorsement.
The progressive representative in the New York State Assembly has also sparked outrage after engaging in a series of provocative actions, such as appearing on the podcast of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas influencer Hasan Piker and vowing to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York.
During an event hosted by the UJA-Federation of New York last month, Mamdani also declined to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
“I believe that Israel has a right to exist with equal rights for all,” Mamdani said in a carefully worded response when asked, sidestepping the issue of Israel’s existence specifically as a “Jewish state” and seemingly suggesting Israeli citizens do not enjoy equal rights.
Then during a New York City Democratic mayoral debate, he once again refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, sparking immediate backlash among the other candidates.
In 2023, while speaking at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in New York, Mamdani encouraged the audience to applaud for Palestinian American community activist Khader El-Yateem, saying “If you don’t clap for El-Yateem, you’re a Zionist.”
During that same speech, Mamdani touted his longstanding anti-Israel activism.
“I was somebody who began my journey in organizing and in politics by co-founding my school’s first Students for Justice in Palestine. The struggle for Palestinian liberation was at the core of my politics and continues to be,” Mamdani said.
Students for Justice in Palestine has been at the forefront of the wave of pro-Hamas demonstrations that have engulfed college campuses during the Gaza war.
Jewish leaders in New York, the broader US, and even abroad have expressed alarm over Mamdani’s primary victory, with many accusing him of antisemitism and noting he has made anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career.
The post New York Democrats Hesitate to Endorse Far-Left Zohran Mamdani Following Stunning NYC Primary Victory first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Sweden Democrats Apologize for Past Nazi Links, Antisemitism as Election Nears
Mattias Karlsson, Sweden Democrats politicians, addresses party members after election in Stockholm, Sweden, Sept. 9, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats apologized on Thursday for the party’s past Nazi links and antisemitism, part of efforts to present a more moderate, mainstream image to voters ahead of a national election next year.
The Sweden Democrats were presenting the results of a specially commissioned study that found Nazi and antisemitic views to have been common at party functions and in its printed materials in the 1980s and 1990s.
“That there have been clear expressions of antisemitism and support for National Socialist ideas in my party’s history I think is disgusting and reprehensible,” Mattias Karlsson, a member of parliament often described as the party’s chief ideologist, told a news conference.
“I would like to reiterate the party’s apology, above all to Swedish citizens of Jewish descent who may have felt a strong sense of insecurity and fear for good reasons.”
The commissioning of the study sought to acknowledge and break with a past that has long hindered its cooperation with Sweden‘s mainstream political parties. The Sweden Democrats hope to join a future coalition government after the 2026 election.
The party first entered parliament in 2010 and currently supports Sweden‘s governing right-wing coalition government but has no members in the cabinet.
Tony Gustafsson, the historian hired by the party to write the book, said the party had emerged in the 1980s out of neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizations and that it had continued to cooperate with them into the 1990s.
“The collaboration seems to have involved using these groups to help distribute election materials,” Gustafsson said, adding there were strong indications that one such group, the “White Aryan Resistance,” had served as security guards at party gatherings.
Gustafsson said there had been a clear connection to Nazism until 1995, the year that current party leader Jimmie Akesson joined the Sweden Democrats, but that the Sweden Democrats had begun distancing itself from such links thereafter.
The post Sweden Democrats Apologize for Past Nazi Links, Antisemitism as Election Nears first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Supreme Leader, in First Appearance Since Ceasefire, Says Iran Would Strike Back if Attacked
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised message, after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday, in his first televised remarks since a ceasefire was reached between Iran and Israel.
Khamenei, 86, claimed victory after 12 days of war, culminating in an Iranian attack on the largest US base in the region, located in Qatar, after Washington joined the Israeli strikes. No casualties were reported in the Iranian attack, which was coordinated with both US and Qatari authorities beforehand in an apparent effort to show a symbolic display of force without triggering retaliation.
“The Islamic Republic slapped America in the face. It attacked one of the important American bases in the region,” Khamenei said.
As in his last comments, released more than a week ago during the Israeli bombardment, he spoke from an undisclosed indoor location in front of a brown curtain, between an Iranian flag and a portrait of his predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini.
In his pre-recorded remarks, aired on state television, Khamenei promised that Iran would not surrender despite US President Donald Trump’s calls.
“The US President Trump unveiled the truth and made it clear that Americans won’t be satisfied with anything less than surrender… such an event will never happen,” Khamenei said.
“The fact that the Islamic Republic has access to important American centers in the region and can take action against them whenever it deems necessary is not a small incident, it is a major incident, and this incident can be repeated in the future if an attack is made,” he added.
Trump said “sure” on Wednesday when asked if the United States would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear enrichment program.
Tehran has for decades denied accusations by Western leaders that it is seeking nuclear arms.
NO GAIN
Khamenei said the US “gained no achievement” after it attacked Iranian nuclear sites, but that it entered the war to “save” Israel after some of Tehran’s missiles broke through Israel’s multi-layered defense system.
“The US directly entered the war as it felt that if it did not get involved, the Zionist regime [Israel] would be fully destroyed. It entered the war to save it,” he said.
“The US attacked our nuclear facilities, but couldn’t do any important deed … The US president did abnormal showmanship and needed to do so,” he added.
Trump said over the weekend that the US deployment of 30,000-pound bombs had “obliterated” Iran‘s nuclear program. Officials and experts are still probing the extent of the damage.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also declared “a historic victory” on Tuesday, after the fragile ceasefire took effect, saying Israel had achieved its goal of removing Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat.
Shortly after Khamenei’s speech, Netanyahu posted a message with a picture of himself and Trump holding hands with the message: “We will continue to work together to defeat our common enemies.”
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