Peloni
Muslim mobs chased down Israelis following a football match on Nov. 7, 2024. Screengrab via Youtube.
On November 7, 2024, following a football match held between Maccabi Tel Aviv & Ajax, the match ended with what could hardly be described as other than a modern day Jew Hunt on the streets of the Amsterdam. Muslim groups across the city were chasing down and assaulting Israeli Maccabi fans resulting in stabbings, vehicle assaults, and severe physical violence throughout the evening. More than 30 Israelis were taken to hospitals, while others remained in hotels out of fear of leaving. The apparent organized and coordinated assault on Israelis came amid the backdrop of both the Gaza war and the pro-Hamas rallies around the world which had been ongoing for more than a year. The need for a national response to such an event in the future was patently clear.
This need led to the formation of a plan of action by which to prevent a re-occurrence of the “Amsterdam incident” which left Israelis without any support or aid while being hunted down in a foreign country by a raging mob might be avoided in the future.
In regards to the plan developed to deal with another “Amsterdam incident,” a State Comptroller’s recent report was more than a bit unsettling. The report states that the “Amsterdam incident” exposed serious deficiencies in the Israeli government’s response to Israeli sports fans abroad. The report goes on to note that Israel is not sufficiently prepared to handle large-scale emergency events involving Israelis overseas, despite growing antisemitic and violent threats against Israelis worldwide since the outbreak of the war in October 2023.
According to the report, terrorist organizations have shown increased motivation and efforts to target Israeli and Jewish sites around the world, alongside a sharp rise in violent antisemitic incidents including physical assaults, arson, vandalism of Jewish institutions, and murders. The report cites major increases in antisemitic incidents in several Western countries taking place during 2023–2024, including the United States, France, Australia, Britain, and others. It also notes that antisemitism has become more violent and dangerous since October 7.
The State Comptroller describes the Amsterdam incident as a turning point regarding the security of Israeli sports fans abroad. According to the Foreign Ministry’s internal review, antisemitic incidents against Israelis overseas are expected to continue increasing.
One of the report’s central findings concerns an inter-ministerial procedure for evacuating Israelis from abroad that was written in March 2024. The procedure states that the Foreign Ministry is responsible for coordinating responses to emergency incidents involving Israelis overseas unless political leaders transfer responsibility to the National Security Council. It also requires a full annual exercise of the procedure. Unfortunately, the Comptroller found that by August 2025 neither the Foreign Ministry nor the National Security Council had conducted such an exercise.
The National Security Council argued that it is not an operational body responsible for evacuations and that the procedure had effectively been exercised during the Amsterdam incident and later during Operation “Am Kelavi.”
The report expresses concern about Israel’s ability to manage a much larger mass-casualty incident involving Israelis abroad. The Comptroller warns that Israel must reassess its preparedness for what the report calls a “mega mass-casualty event” involving many victims overseas. The recommendation is directed at both the Foreign Ministry and the National Security Council.
The report goes further to call on authorities to draw lessons from the Amsterdam incident, correct deficiencies, and specifically address risks facing Israeli sports teams and fans abroad.
In its response, the Foreign Ministry acknowledged that antisemitic and anti-Israeli sentiment worldwide is deeply concerning and said that delegitimization of Israel has spread beyond politics into culture and sports. The ministry stated that the Amsterdam incident was a difficult example of this trend. It also said it has implemented a new system and is working on additional systems related to handling emergency incidents involving Israelis abroad, though details were not provided for security reasons.
In its conclusions, the report concludes that risks facing Israelis abroad are increasing and that the Amsterdam incident exposed fundamental problems in Israel’s preparedness during a period of unusually severe global antisemitism. The Comptroller recommends that the Foreign Ministry reassess national preparedness for large-scale incidents involving Israelis overseas and that the National Security Council ensure it can quickly organize evacuations and return Israelis to Israel during emergencies.
Source
https://www.news1.co.il/Archive/001-D-518660-00.html
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