Amsterdam events anti-Zionist not antisemitic: Israeli think tank head

The director of an Israeli think tank described the demonstrations in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, as anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic.

Dr. Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu, director of the Israel-Europe Relations Program at the Israeli think tank, Mitvim, and a lecturer at Hebrew University’s European Forum and Tel Aviv University’s European Union Studies Program, stated in an interview that the demonstrators opposing Israeli fans were not targeting Jews but Israelis. She emphasized that the actions were primarily motivated by anti-Zionism or anti-"Israel" sentiment.

While clarifying that there “is no justification for violence,” the pro-Palestinians “specifically sought revenge on the one who tore up the Palestinian flags and called for the death of the Arabs. The actions of those in Amsterdam are the result of anti-Israeli sentiment. There is a very sharp new anti-Semitism, but in Amsterdam, it was mainly anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist.”

Sion-Tzidkiyahu said that “a month into the war, the number of civilian casualties in Gaza caused a very large anti-Israeli wave. It is very easy to dismiss everything with the word 'anti-Semitism'.”

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐢 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 "𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥" 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐓𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐯𝐢𝐯 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-"𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥" 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐙𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

She further stressed that Israelis must understand that the Israeli atrocities in Gaza will endanger European Jews and the continuation of Jewish life in Europe "due to the rise of anti-Semitic attacks against them."

𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹𝗶 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀

Violence erupted across Amsterdam, the Netherlands, last Thursday when supporters of Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv stormed through the city, tearing down Palestinian flags displayed on private property and chanting incendiary slogans, according to reports and footage circulated widely on social media platforms.

The events, which unfolded before and after Maccabi’s match against Ajax, have ignited widespread outrage, with accounts of Israeli fans clashing with bystanders, damaging property, and burning the Palestinian flags.

In response to the incidents, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced what he claimed was a "very violent incident against Israeli citizens in Amsterdam" and announced the dispatch of rescue planes to assist Israelis in the Dutch city.

Moreover, Dutch police arrested six people Tuesday protesting in front of Amsterdam's city hall after an anti-protest ban was imposed following the clashes in the European capital last week.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that the Dutch government is being held responsible for the escalation, having banned a pro-Palestine demonstration and arrested several supporters while allowing Israeli demonstrators to stage protests, carry out provocations, and remove Palestinian flags.