Assault on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans: The five from Amsterdam were sentenced

The court in Amsterdam sentenced five attackers who participated in the attack on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to prison terms, with the most severe punishment – half a year in prison – imposed on one of the main attackers.

In the verdict given this morning (third), the court ruled that although the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans behaved with some violence, there was no justification for the organized attack that was directed against them in the streets of Amsterdam after the football match against Ajax in the Europa League.

The Dutch prosecution claimed that the motive for the attacks was not anti-Semitic, but stemmed mainly from violence and frustration over the situation in Gaza – a claim that provoked sharp criticism among the Jewish community in Amsterdam.

The attacks, described as “hit and run” by scooter riders, were specifically aimed at Israeli fans. As I said Arya Boka member of the Jewish community in Amsterdam (speaking to De Telegraaf), who expressed disappointment saying “The ruling feels like a slap in the face to the Jewish community here. It seems that our security and the recognition of anti-Semitism are still not taken seriously.”

The other defendants were sentenced to sentences ranging from one month to two and a half months in prison, and one of them was sent to perform 100 hours of community service. The sentences reflect the seriousness of the acts in the court’s opinion, although many on social media argued that the punishments were too light.

The trial, which was nicknamed “the trial of the persecution of the Jews” in the Dutch media, raised the issue of dealing with anti-Semitism in the country to the public agenda. Political leaders, including the leader of the Dutch right Geert Wilders strongly condemned the attacks and demanded that decisive steps be taken to combat the phenomenon.