Dutch Court Issues Prison Sentences Over Violence Against Israeli Soccer Fans

Europe|Dutch Court Issues Prison Sentences Over Violence Against Israeli Soccer Fans

A Dutch court on Tuesday found five people guilty of public violence or incitement of public violence, the first rulings related to last month’s assaults against Israeli soccer fans surrounding a ​match in Amsterdam between an Israeli team and a Dutch team.

The violence occurred on the night of Nov. 7, when fans of the Israeli team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, faced a series of antisemitic assaults in the Dutch capital, often in what the authorities described as hit-and-run attacks on bike and foot. In the prelude to the match, which was against the Amsterdam team, Ajax, supporters of the Israeli team had stolen and burned a Palestinian flag, while others chanted racist epithets and attacked a cab.

Four of the defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one month to six months, though people found guilty of similar offenses are usually sentenced to community service. “In this context, only a prison sentence is appropriate,” the judge said.

Some of the defendants were part of a 900-person WhatsApp group, named “Community Center II,” in which they discussed attacks as well as shared locations and the flight information of some of the Israeli fans, the court said. In the chat group, some of the defendants explicitly said they were looking to beat up Jews.

“I may never get this chance again,” one of them wrote.

The court is expected to rule in two other cases, including attempted manslaughter charges, at a later date.

The court said it had also taken into account the Israeli supporters’ actions, along with the sense of dissatisfaction among large parts of Dutch society with the war in Gaza. But the judge said that the wider context was “no justification for the violence and insults” that were levied against the Israelis.