The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned violence in Amsterdam that reportedly started when far-right Israeli soccer hooligans chanting racist and violent anti-Arab slogans attacked Arab and Muslim residents, and vandalized houses and businesses with Palestinian flags.
Video footage from the scene shows that large crowd of Israeli soccer fans marched through downtown Amsterdam before and after a soccer game shouting, “Death to Arabs” and “F**k you Palestine.” The crowd also reportedly chanted: “There are no schools in Gaza because there are no children left.” Fans also shouted: “Let the IDF [Israeli army] f**k the Arabs”.
A city council member said: “They [Israeli fans] began attacking houses of people in Amsterdam with Palestinian flags, so that’s actually where the violence started…As a reaction, Amsterdammers mobilized themselves and countered the attacks that started on Wednesday by the Maccabi hooligans.”
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We strongly condemn the massive crowd of openly racist Israeli soccer hooligans who sparked violent clashes in Amsterdam by marching through the city chanting “Death to Arabs,” attacking visibly Muslim and Arab residents, and vandalizing houses and businesses with Palestinian flags.
“As a Black man from Georgia, I know that it would be widely condemned if a group of white supremacists marched through downtown Atlanta chanting “death to “n—ers,” attacking Black-owned businesses, and beating up Black residents. I also know that no one would pretend that Black victims who defended themselves from white supremacist violence were racists who had suddenly decided to attack random white people.
“The violent brawls and attacks that occurred in Amsterdam are unacceptable. So is the false claim that Dutch Muslim and Arab residents of Amsterdam suddenly and randomly attacked Jewish people in a modern-day pogrom. Media outlets must accurately report the facts on the ground, not repeat propaganda from the Israeli government or far-right politicians that reinforces xenophobic paranoia about Europe’s immigrant population.”
Yesterday, CAIR questioned the Biden administration’s inaction after the far-right Israeli government reportedly confirmed its ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com