Before I left for this trip to see Maccabi Tel Aviv play in Amsterdam—the month before I will be starting my service in the Israel Defense Forces—I couldn’t have imagined that it would make every headline in Israel and some major headlines worldwide.
I flew to the capital of Holland with a friend; we got to our hotel on the main street near Dam Square on Nov. 6. When we went out to explore, we happened to notice how heavily present Muslim immigrants were around the city, trying to taunt small groups of Israeli sports fans.
The next day, Maccabi supporters gathered in the Dam Square—the main public area in Amsterdam—to get a little rowdy and stir up the atmosphere before a game. There was a police presence there, enough to arrest tens of Arabs trying to start fights with Jews. At around 5 p.m., an organized march to the Central Metro station of Amsterdam began for Maccabi Tel Aviv fans. During that walk and all the way to the stadium, there was a significant police presence; they surrounded fans, making sure that nothing and nobody could get near the Israeli group.
But on the way back from the stadium once the match ended, there was no police presence whatsoever. After a horrendous but memorable game of soccer (we lost 5-0), we started heading back to the central station. My friend and I got on the first train back from the game, which was full of Israeli families—women and children. Because we were on the first train back, unfortunately, we were bound to be the first group to be ambushed by groups of Arabs.
Following my arrival at the central station, I headed to my hotel, trying to stay in a big group as much as possible. It’s important to mention that I was wearing Maccabi Tel Aviv gear from head to toe, including yellow clothes and a team scarf; it was easy to recognize me and the many fans based on our appearance. After seeing groups of Arabs waiting in the main streets, we decided to get closer to more Israelis so we could walk more safely. As soon as we gathered up together, they started multiplying.
That is when they threw a shock grenade at us, potentially causing hearing damage to some. From that point forward, everything started escalating. That is when a small group of Arabs started chasing me and about 10 more Israelis down city alleys. At that point, there is nothing you can do but run. I ran down a few alleys, hearing someone screaming behind me in Arabic. Until now, I don’t know if he was armed, but I was informed that many of them were. After I ran away, I entered the first hotel I could find. When I did, I realized that my friend split up with me while escaping, so naturally, I was worried that they caught him. He called me five minutes later, saying that he got to our hotel somehow, even though it was surrounded by Arabs. After that, it was clear I could not exit the hotel at all.
Luckily, there was a group of Israelis who were guests there, and they let me stay in their room as long as I needed to, and offered me food and water all night. We realized that the Central Amsterdam police station was located 10 meters away from the hotel I was hiding at, so we went to ask for help. I was shocked by the response of the police: “Sorry, sir, we are unable to help you right now.”
That is the most disgraceful part of it all; the Dutch police really didn’t get involved until the violence was over. For three long hours, Jews were getting beaten up in the streets, and the police did absolutely nothing. I was very lucky to have traveled back to Israel with the team and was fortunate enough to get on the first flight back to Israel. At around 6 a.m., I had been waiting in this random hotel for five hours until I got a police escort to an organized bus that took me to the airport. It’s important to mention that taxis were out of the question. I learned that a large portion of taxi drivers in Amsterdam are Muslims, and some were later said to have taken a major plan in this operation.
This situation definitely opened my eyes to how bad antisemitism and immigration are becoming in Europe. I traveled to Amsterdam to support my football team, but unfortunately, that’s not what I’ll be remembering from my experience.