By Worthy News’ Johan Th. Bos in Amsterdam and Stefan J. Bos in Budapest
JERUSALEM/BUDAPEST/AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – Israel’s secret service Mossad reportedly warned of a potential threat to Israelis and Jews in the Netherlands ahead of the soccer game Ajax against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.
Mossad sent a warning to security forces in Israel and the Netherlands, requesting “an immediate and significant increase in security for Israelis near the soccer stadium,” Israeli sources said.
Several security sources reportedly saw an “escalation” on social media in the Netherlands Thursday.
An update was received by the security agency “regarding a threat against a former Border Police officer who attended a game in Amsterdam,” explained The Jerusalem Post newspaper.
The official was attacked, had his passport stolen, and his details were reportedly shared across social media, the paper recalled.
Dozens of Jews were injured in the violent anti-Israel violence. The antisemitic rioters were described as “Pro-Palestine Arab Muslims” by survivors and as “scooter youths” by local authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that he had instructed Mossad to draw up a plan to prevent unrest at events abroad after the violence in Amsterdam.
“I have instructed the head of the Mossad (David Barnea) and other officials to prepare our actions, our warning system, and our organization for a new situation,” Netanyahu added in a video statement.
EMERGENCY MEETING
He attended an emergency meeting on Friday about the evacuation of Israeli soccer fans from Amsterdam.
The government decided against sending military planes, but El Al Israel Airlines said it sent additional aircraft to pick up attacked Jews, mainly Israeli soccer fans.
As evacuations were underway, Israel’s National Security Council on Friday urged Israelis not to attend the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team’s match in the Italian city of Bologna on Friday night after the incidents in Amsterdam.
The Council said it fears new attacks on Israeli fans.
They were also advised “to avoid wearing Israeli and Jewish symbols as much as possible at sporting events abroad,” Israeli media reported.
The attacks in Amsterdam came around the 86th anniversary of the “Kristallnacht,” or the “Night of Broken Glass,” when German Nazis and their allies attacked Jews throughout Germany on November 9-10, 1938.
Aafje van Kampen, an art painter born in 1941, wondered why the soccer match was allowed to take place on the eve of Kristallnacht commemorations. “I don’t understand why this could happen while there is so much antisemitism,” she added.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time in nine months, citing signs of a cooling labor market and persistent uncertainty in the U.S. economy.
Several nations have threatened to boycott the world’s largest televised song competition if Israel participates.
Suspected Islamist gunmen on motorbikes have killed at least 22 people in Niger, including about 15 at a baptism ceremony and seven more nearby, officials and witnesses said. In neighboring Nigeria, a Christian farmer in the Abuja area separately told Worthy News he miraculously escaped armed men raiding his land.
At least nine people have died in Pakistan’s Punjab province when a rescue boat capsized during flood relief efforts, authorities confirmed over the weekend amid massive death and destruction that also impacted the Islamic nation’s tiny Christian minority.
The U.S. Department of State on Wednesday announced the designation of four Iran-backed militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), escalating pressure on Tehran and its network of proxies across the Middle East.
Israel on Wednesday announced that its long-awaited laser air defense system, known as the “Iron Beam,” is now fully operational following a series of advanced tests. The Defense Ministry and developer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said the first batteries will be delivered to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) by the end of the year, marking a historic first for military technology worldwide.
Iran erupted in protests overnight as thousands took to the streets to mark the third anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, the young Kurdish woman killed in custody by the regime’s morality police after refusing to wear a hijab.