Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Anti-Israel protesters in Amsterdam set tram fire just days after targeted attacks against Jews

Dozens were arrested last week in the Dutch capital after Israelis were targeted and attacked

Anti-Israel protesters started a fire inside a tram car in Amsterdam on Monday and riot police were called to disperse them, days after traveling Israeli soccer fans were attacked in the Dutch capital in what some described as an antisemitic pogrom.

Video circulating on social media showed rioters throwing sticks and debris and hurling stones at a stopped tram car. The protesters appear to be yelling “Free Palestine” and “Kanker Joden (cancer Jews),” a slur, according to videos from the scene. At one point, there’s smoke in the tram and then a firework appears to explode inside the car, starting a fire.

Dutch police said it was unclear what prompted the violence or who started it. Dutch media said there were no injuries reported in the fire.

Last week, Amsterdam authorities declared a state of emergency — during which all protests are banned — after locals attacked Israelis who were in the city for a soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax, a major Dutch club. At least 10 Israelis reported injuries and five were hospitalized from the targeted beatings, many of which were recorded and posted to social media by the assailants. The Dutch police arrested at least 60 people last week, and five more were arrested Monday in connection with the attacks; eight are currently still being held.

More than 50 people were detained on Sunday for attempting to participate in a banned demonstration, where protesters shouted “Free Palestine.”

Tensions had been high in the city before the attacks. Pro-Palestinian groups scheduled a series of protests pegged to the match and spray-painted anti-Israel slogans around the city; leading up to the game, Maccabi fans tore down Palestinian flags around the city and shouted anti-Arab chants.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version