Amsterdam Mayor Femka Halsema said she regretted calling the riots in Amsterdam a "pogrom" because this was being used to discriminate against the Moroccan-Muslim population of the city, according to Dutch media on Monday.
The riots that erupted following an Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv game led to mass violence throughout the city in which large groups of people attacked people they suspected of being Jewish or Israeli, often demanding to see passports and ID cards to confirm their ethnicity.
Halsema, in an interview with Dutch state media, NOS, said that she would not use the term "pogrom" to describe the events again and that it was wrong to do so in the initial press conference.
She initially said at the press conference immediately following the riots that "Young men on scooters crisscrossed the city looking for Israeli football fans. It was a 'hit-and-run'. I fully understand that this brings back memories of pogroms."
She backtracked these comments, saying she didn't want to make a direct comparison with pogroms and that she was merely trying to empathize with Jewish Amsterdammers.
However, Halsema said during a debate in the city council last Tuesday, before the most recent interview, that she still fully supports the use of the word pogrom but admitted that the city's municipality, police, and Public Prosecution Service had not succeeded in keeping the city safe.
During the same session, members of the conservative VVD called for a vote of no confidence in her. However, this was doomed from the beginning as her governing coalition (consisting of left, green, and liberal parties) held a clear majority (24/45).
'Pogrom' was Israeli propaganda
She accused the Israeli government and Dutch national politicians of using the term as propaganda to attack the Amsterdammer Muslim community, "If I had known that it would be used politically in this way, also as propaganda, I want nothing to do with that."
“The Israeli government spoke of a ‘Palestinian pogrom on the streets of Amsterdam,’ and in The Hague, the words were used to discriminate against Moroccan Amsterdammers, Muslims. That is not what I meant or what I wanted.”
The Hague, the home of the Dutch parliament, saw fierce debates over the riots, leading Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right largest party PVV, to call for all those involved to have their citizenship revoked and deported, views which have led to him being directly excluded from mainstream politics until his victory in the 2023 Dutch elections.
Halsema said she received no prior indications from security services that things would get so out of hand, according to NOS. However, De Telegraaf had reported on November 5 that Mossad agents were being sent along with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
De Telegraaf later reported that police initially believed that the rioters were looking for a group confrontation, and only after the event had begun did they realize the purpose was to assault individual Israelis.
Amsterdam police are currently looking at 45 people on suspicion of "serious violent crimes" committed on the night of the riots, according to NU.nl. Police will be periodically releasing images of the suspects so the public can help in identifying them.
Nine of the 45 have been identified and arrested and remain in custody as of November 17.
Summary of the events of the riot
NU.nl summarized the events of the riots. The day before the match, aggressive and threatening messages were sent to supporters traveling with the team. That evening, Maccabi fans tore down a Palestinian flag and vandalized a taxi, apparently leading to a confrontation, which Amsterdam police defused.
In the lead-up to the match, more calls for action against Maccabi fans were sent. Following the match, Israelis in the city center were "attacked, abused, and pelted with fireworks," which police said had an "antisemitic character."
Group chats had called for a "Jew-hunt," and people were attacked for their nationality as well as people enjoying the nightlife. Maccabi fans are seen with belts, planks, and iron pipes attacking passers-by.
In the following days, riots persisted in Amsterdam despite the evacuation of Israelis from the city.