Several human rights, political, and community organizations representing Moroccan expatriates in Europe are offering a different account of the recent clashes between Israeli football fans and local residents in Amsterdam, which they say were misrepresented by the Dutch media.
The groups — including the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Migration and Development, the Unified Socialist Party of Western Europe, and the Moroccan Human Rights Initiative in the Netherlands — claim that the violence on November 7, 2024, was not instigated by Moroccan migrants, as some media outlets reported, but by Israeli fans who provoked the altercations.
Approximately 3,000 supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv, many of whom the organizations say were Israeli military and intelligence personnel, came to Amsterdam not only to attend the football match against Ajax but also, according to these groups, to incite chaos and destabilize the peaceful coexistence in the city. The groups accuse these fans of engaging in violent behavior, including tearing down Palestinian flags, shouting racist slogans, and vandalizing property in the days leading up to the match.
The groups argue that the altercations on November 7 were a legitimate response to the earlier provocations by Israeli supporters. They claim that the violence began on November 6, when Maccabi fans were seen chanting racist and anti-Palestinian slogans while vandalizing private property. The groups assert that these actions — including the tearing down of Palestinian flags — were carried out in a spirit of hatred and intolerance imported from Israel.
“Media outlets aligned with Zionist narratives spread false reports, claiming that migrants of Moroccan descent were responsible for the violence,” the organizations said in a joint statement. “The truth was evident in videos and testimonies from the scene, which clearly refute these accusations.”
The groups also criticized what they described as the “Zionist-controlled” Western media for perpetuating a narrative of “anti-Semitism” to cover up the violent behavior of the Israeli fans. They argued that the incidents had nothing to do with anti-Semitism but were a reaction to what they described as “provocative” and “racist” behavior by the Israeli supporters.
“These incidents were not an attack on Jews; they were a defensive reaction to racist provocations,” the groups said.
In addition to media bias, the organizations accused the Dutch police of failing to intervene when the Israeli fans first began their actions on November 6. They claim the police allowed the situation to escalate by permitting the Israeli supporters to engage in hate-filled actions without consequence.
“If the police had intervened early, this violence would have been avoided,” they said, adding that the Moroccan-origin residents of Amsterdam, many of whom they said were subjected to the racist behavior of the Israeli fans, felt compelled to defend themselves.
The organizations also expressed outrage over the calls from some right-wing groups in the Netherlands to strip Muslims and Moroccans of their citizenship in response to the clashes, a demand they see as discriminatory and unjustified. They insisted that the clashes were not an act of anti-Semitism but rather a reaction to the hostility and provocations from the Israeli supporters.
In conclusion, the groups reaffirmed their support for the Palestinian cause, calling for international solidarity with the Palestinian people and condemning any attempts to silence criticism of Israel through media manipulation.
“The Moroccan people, alongside all freedom-loving people of the world, stand with Palestine’s right to self-determination,” they said.
While these organizations present a starkly different interpretation of the events than the official Dutch narrative, the situation remains contentious, with ongoing debates in the Netherlands about how to handle issues of race, migration, and international political tensions in the country.
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