Amsterdam’s night of shame

Depraved mob violence targeting Jews in Amsterdam on the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht, and not far from the house where Anne Frank and her family hid near the centre of the city, was shocking evidence of the depth of gross anti-Semitism sweeping not only The Netherlands, a nation that has long prided itself on tolerance, but much of the world, including Australia, regrettably. As emergency flights of national carrier El Al were quickly mobilised to bring home hundreds of Israelis desperate to escape what was described as a “pogrom” in one of Europe’s most civilised nations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned: “The anniversary of Kristallnacht is being marked on the streets of Amsterdam.” But unlike during Kristallnacht in 1938, he said, the Jewish people had a state of their own. And the forces behind the attacks not only pose a risk to Jews but also to the entire free world.

After a Europa League soccer match against Amsterdam club Ajax, fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv, which lost 5-0, were attacked by rampaging gangs of pro-Palestinian Muslim thugs. Scores of Jews were knocked unconscious, thrown into canals, stamped on and lacerated until they uttered the words “Free Palestine”. The rioters, many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyehs, tore through hotels searching for Jews, bashing men and women. Some Jews were deliberately rammed by cars.

“We want Jewish blood,” a British Jew, Aaron, reported hearing as he was smashed in the face by Muslim attackers for trying to help another Maccabi fan who was being beaten. Adi Reuben recounted how he was set upon by 10 men shouting: “Jewish, Jewish, IDF, IDF.” They kicked him repeatedly, breaking his nose.

Dutch police rounded up 62 attackers on what was a night of unspeakable infamy for The Netherlands, a country that, ironically, provides the headquarters for the International Criminal Court, which is working to indict Israel’s leaders for their self-defence campaign against terrorism in Gaza. Dutch King Willem-Alexander quickly apologised for what he described as “dark and grim times for Jewish people”. “We failed the Jewish community of The Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again,” he said, expressing “deep horror and shock”.

Dutch Party for Freedom founder and leader Geert Wilders posted: “We have become the Gaza of Europe – Muslims with Palestinian flags hunting down Jews. I will not accept that – never. Never again.” It is imperative that King Willem-Alexander’s horror and Mr Wilders’ vow are embraced in The Netherlands and beyond. Ronald Leopold, executive director of Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, said: “Events during the Kristallnacht commemoration are both shocking and shameful. It is unimaginable that something like this could happen in Amsterdam in 2024.” Tragically, however, it is all too real.

Mr Netanyahu’s warning that, 86 years on, the anniversary of Kristallnacht was being “marked on the streets of Amsterdam” is a horrifying reminder of the precipice the world is on in the aftermath of the October 7 slaughter of Jews last year. It is a reminder, too, that amid the deepening global crisis over anti-Semitism, the stories of those such as 94-year-old Polish-Australian Holocaust survivor Guta Goldstein, who spent from age nine to 14 in a ghetto and various concentration camps, need to be recounted. As reported in The Weekend Australian, a short film to be screened at the Jewish International Film Festival this week will recall the songs that sustained her during her childhood and internment, songs that otherwise would have been lost.