Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has backtracked on her earlier description of violence following a football match between Israeli and Dutch teams as a “pogrom.” Speaking on Dutch state broadcaster NPO’s News Hour on Sunday, Halsema clarified her intent, stating that she had not anticipated the term being politicized and used as propaganda.
The unrest unfolded on 6 and 7 November when Maccabi Tel Aviv fans visiting Amsterdam for a UEFA Europa League match against Ajax were accused of chanting anti-Arab slogans and removing Palestinian flags from residential areas. Tensions escalated into violent clashes between Maccabi fans, some armed with sticks and pipes, and Dutch youths. Videos circulated on social media showed Maccabi supporters being attacked and chased by locals.
Halsema described the incidents, said, “For two hours after the game, between 12.30 am and 2.30 am, violent incidents suddenly spread throughout the city, and were not just limited to football fans. At around 2.30 am, the city became calm.”
However, the mayor criticized the Israeli government for bypassing local authorities in its response. “At 3 am, Prime Minister Netanyahu, from Israel, gave a press conference about what had happened in Amsterdam while we were still gathering facts,” she said.
Political Fallout
The controversy deepened following Halsema’s comments in a press conference after the violence, where she said, “The events as we saw them evoke memories of pogroms.” On Sunday, she clarified, “First, let me say that the words ‘Jew hunt’ have been used. People were going ‘Jew hunting,’ they asked for passports… What I primarily wanted to express was the sadness and fear among Jewish Amsterdammers.”
Halsema acknowledged that her choice of words had unintended consequences. “I have to say that in the days after, I saw how the word ‘pogrom’ became very political and turned into propaganda… That’s not what I wanted.”
International and Local Reactions
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticized Halsema’s retraction, calling her comments “utterly unacceptable.” He argued, “Hundreds of Israeli fans who came to watch a football match were pursued and attacked, targeted by a mob asking for their passports to check if they were citizens of the Jewish state. There is no other word for this than a pogrom.”
Saar also noted that the term had first been used by Dutch politicians, including far-right leader Geert Wilders, not by Israeli officials.
Meanwhile, human rights activist Nicholas McGeehan pointed to the history of racist behavior among Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, calling their actions in Amsterdam “a mirror of the thuggery of the Israeli government in Gaza and Lebanon.” He added, “This does not excuse the violence that was meted out to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, but to present them as innocent victims of antisemitism is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.”
Domestic Turmoil
The incident also created political shockwaves in the Netherlands. Nora Achahbar, a junior minister of Moroccan descent, resigned from the government last week, citing racist remarks from cabinet colleagues in connection with the violence. Her resignation nearly caused the collapse of the Dutch coalition government, dominated by Wilders’s far-right Party for Freedom, but an emergency meeting preserved the coalition for now.
As tensions persist, Halsema emphasized her desire to avoid becoming entangled in a broader political conflict. “I never made a direct comparison but said that I could understand the feelings and I wanted to express sadness. But I am not an instrument in a national and international political battle,” she said.
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