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Palestinian Rapper Twice Applauds Amsterdam ‘Pogrom’ Violence Against Israeli Soccer Fans
The Palestinian singer and musician Marwan Abdelhamid, AKA Saint Levant, performs live at Alcatraz. Milan (Italy), October 30th 2024. Photo: Elena Di Vincenzo/Mondadori Portfolio/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Palestinian rapper Saint Levant praised the recent violent antisemitic attacks targeting Israelis in Amsterdam during his performance in the Dutch city last week, before further taunting pro-Israel supporters by posting on social media more brazen applause for the violence that has been described as a “pogrom” targeting Jews.
The rapper, whose real name is Marwan Abdelhamid, performed on Nov. 12 at the concert hall and club Paradiso Amsterdam. His sold-out concert took place a few days after fans of the Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv were run over by cars, beat up, and chased with knives, rocks, and sticks in Amsterdam by Arab and Muslim gangs, who also shouted anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian slogans. The violence took place during the early hours of Nov. 8 following a soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and their Dutch rivals Ajax.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon called the violence a “pogrom,” while Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said the “hit-and-run” antisemitic attacks were a “poisonous cocktail” of antisemitism and hooligan actions. On the social media platform Telegram, users talked about going on a “Jew hunt,” Halsema said.
Hard-right Dutch political leader Geert Wilders, from the anti-immigration Party for Freedom, blamed “Moroccans who want to destroy Jews” for the attacks. Wilders gave no evidence for his claims, but in videos shared from the violence, some of the attackers could be heard speaking Moroccan Arabic and Berber languages native to Morocco, according to NBC News. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof merely said the attackers have an “immigration background.” Dutch Police and prosecutors have not revealed the identities of anyone who has been arrested in connection to the attacks.
The Network Contagion Research Institute published an analysis of open-source intelligence and social media showing that the violence against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam was a premeditated and coordinated attack orchestrated with extremist networks linked to a former employee of the controversial United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Sometime during his set at Paradiso Amsterdam on Nov. 12, Saint Levant stopped to address the audience and talk to them about the violence targeting Israelis in the city. “Quick little shoutout to our Moroccan brothers for what they did the other day,” he told the crowd. “Because it’s not the first time that they come to a land that’s not theirs and start some shit. So thank you for taking care of business.”
His comments drew attention from Israeli social media influencer and activist Hen Mazzig, who posted a video on TikTok of Levant making the remarks on stage and accused him of promoting “gross anti-Jewish rhetoric.” On Sunday, Saint Levant shared on his Instagram Story a repost of Mazzig’s video and again reiterated his support for the violence targeting Israelis. The rapper told Mazzig, “keep crying,” and wrote “Thank you Morocco.”
“israelis [sic] go around chanting ‘death to Arabs’ and think they’re not gonna get beat up?” he added.
Photo: Screenshot
Born in Jerusalem during the Second Intifada, Saint Levant’s mother is French-Algerian and his father, an architect/entrepreneur, is Serbian-Palestinian, according to the rapper’s website. He spent 10 years growing up in Gaza and is currently based in Los Angeles, California. In early 2024, Levant signed with Universal Arabic Music label, which is founded by Wassim “Sal” Slaiby, manager of the Weeknd and CEO of The Weeknd’s record label XO.
In an Instagram post, Paradiso Amsterdam hailed Saint Levant’s performance at its venue last week. The hall wrote in a Dutch-language post that the rapper “took his audience on a journey of music, connection, and solidarity.”
The post Palestinian Rapper Twice Applauds Amsterdam ‘Pogrom’ Violence Against Israeli Soccer Fans 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.