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- How attacks on Jews in Amsterdam pogrom unfolded – US report
How attacks on Jews in Amsterdam pogrom unfolded – US report
A reconstruction shows that, after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attacked a taxi driver, Amsterdam drivers began organizing against them on WhatsApp and Telegram groups
A visual reconstruction published on Wednesday by The Washington Post allegedly shows how events unfolded after the soccer game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax throughout the city of Amsterdam last month, which has been dubbed a pogrom. The newspaper went through more than 100 documents and correspondences, conducting interviews with dozens of witnesses.
"There was some planned coordination — among taxi drivers and other locals who used messaging apps to organize a show of force, with at least one chat referring to a 'Jew hunt,'" the report said.
These attacks were organized through the messaging apps Telegram, WhatsApp, and more. "Hunting Jews" is the name of one of the groups. According to the newspaper, a large number of groups were formed after the events of the night preceding the attacks, in which Maccabi Tel Aviv fans pulled down a Palestinian flag and vandalized a taxi.
The newspaper stated that the Dutch authorities' investigations did not find evidence of prior planning for the violent events in the days before. "Neither of the dominant narratives accurately reflect how the violence unfolded," the report found.
The first confrontations occurred at midnight before the game, with more than 50 mostly men shouting slogans against Palestine. A man in Maccabi colors was seen in footage ripping a Palestinian flag off a building as pro-Palestinian activists were barricaded inside.
About an hour later, a taxi driver arrived at the intersection. "Dashboard-camera video obtained by The Post shows the driver yelling in broken English 'You are gangster!' at Maccabi supporters in the road."
The Maccabi supporters began hitting his vehicle at trying to open the doors.
Amsterdam police monitored groups on Telegram and WhatsApp. "TOMORROW AFTER THE GAME AT NIGHT PART 2 JEW HUNT," one message said.
"After the match, a Telegram group normally used by taxi drivers for traffic updates tracked the fans’ movements from the stadium to the central metro station," the report said. "'Jews are arriving we are waiting for them brother be ready,' a group member posted at 11:33 pm."
The city continued to be in turmoil over the events, even after the Maccabi fans left.
"There is nothing, absolutely nothing to serve as an excuse for the deliberate search and hunting down of Jews," said Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
Geert Wilders, the leader of the largest right-wing party in Dutch parliament, called to strip the attackers of their Dutch citizenship.
At events in Amsterdam last month, about 25 Israelis were injured, of whom five were sent to hospitals. According to Dutch sources, out of more than 60 detainees, only five were charged.