The violence surrounding last week’s football match between Ajax and Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam was the result of “a poisonous cocktail of anti-Semitism, football hooliganism and anger over the war in Palestine and Israel and other parts of the Middle East,” mayor Femke Halesma has told councillors in a briefing.

The 12-page letter details events leading up to, during and after the match and paints a more nuanced picture of the trouble than earlier statements.

The letter makes it clear that Halsema had considered scrapping the game after trouble between Maccabi supporters and taxi drivers on Wednesday, in which several taxis were damaged, leading drivers to rally online.

However, despite the concerns, there were “no legal grounds” to ban the game, and the presence of a large number of supporters in the city was also an issue, the mayor said.  

A number of violent incidents took place after the match and later in the evening, the letter states. Israelis were chased and beaten up by a small group of troublemakers who used anti-Semitic language.

Other footage also shows Maccabi supporters causing trouble. The police, the letter states, eventually decided to round them up and escort them to their hotels.

However, some of the footage in circulation on social media including an attack on one man who was driven onto tram tracks and someone being hit by a car, is old and unrelated to last week’s violence, according to the NRC and Halsema gave a similar warning in her briefing.

The exact number of attacks on Israelis is still being assessed, but there were incidents in 14 parts of town, the letter continues. Troublemakers moved around in small groups on foot, by moped or car, attacked Maccabi supporters and disappeared”, making it difficult for the police to intervene.  

In total 62 people were arrested on the night itself, of whom 49 live in the Netherlands, 10 were Israeli and three still need to be identified.

Police have since arrested six more people, one on Friday and five on Monday, who came from Amsterdam, Monnickendam, Utrecht and Heerhugowaard. They were identified by video footage. Identifying the rest of those involved in the “hit and run” attacks is now the top priority, Halsema said. Eight of those arrested remain in custody.

Public safety

“People on social media have concluded that mainly young Moroccan Amsterdammers have attacked Jewish and Israeli Maccabi supporters and shouted anti-Semetic statements,” the letter said.

“The police investigation will establish the exact identity of the perpetrators. But anti-Semitism cannot be answered by racism. The safety of one group cannot be at the expense of another. Jewish Amsterdammers will not be safer if Moroccan and Islamic Amsterdammers become more unsafe.”

Prime minister Dick Schoof on Monday blamed much of the violence on youngsters with “an immigration background” and said the Netherlands has a “broad integration problem.”

Amsterdam city council will discuss last week’s events and the police response at a council meeting from 12 am.