Some of the violent thugs who attacked Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam were Dutch-Arab taxi drivers who used messaging apps to plan the attack, reports claim.
Chairman of the Maccabi World Union, Amir Peled, told New York-based activist Lizzy Savetsky that the attackers “used the Uber network… to organise themselves, they made Uber WhatsApp groups and most of the attackers belonged to the Uber drivers’ network.”
“It was well organised, it went over the Uber network,” he added.
Ajax YouTube fan channel “Bender” witnessed “around a hundred taxis here, all the way around the corner, all of them honking and getting out of the car.”
Throughout the video and at its conclusion, Bender cites the taxis and their hooting.
We know taxi drivers were part of the pogrom. Watch the video from Bender and this is very clear. pic.twitter.com/zE4bIzaG6A
— Ben Green (@BenGreenJeru) November 9, 2024
An Uber spokesperson tweeted saying they were “shocked to hear of this abhorrent violence” and were supporting Dutch authorities with their investigation.
They claimed, “there were no reported incidents of violence or antisemitism on the Uber app,” and did not respond to allegations that drivers perpetrated physical violence.
But after Londoner, Aaron, 33, was badly beaten and taken to hospital, he claimed his Uber driver refused to take him back to his hotel. “The Uber drivers seemed involved,” he told the Times. “They were filming us. There must have been a lot of communication, the gangs knew where people were going, they knew where to find them.”
Chanan Hertzberger, the chairman of the Central Jewish Council in the Netherlands, said, “There even seems to be app traffic that shows that they meticulously prepared this pogrom, because that is what it was,” he said. “They moved in groups, cornering their targets.”
The JC has seen Telegram and WhatsApp group chats where the attackers allegedly planned the assault the day before the match.
“Tomorrow after the match at night part 2 Jew Hunt”, read one message in a WhatsApp group titled Buurthuis Palestine. Buurthuis is a Dutch word for a neighbourhood community centre.
People on one group chat were encouraged to bring fireworks – a member posted: “Who can sort fireworks?” adding, “We need a lot of fireworks”.
The next day, video footage showed a man being kicked to the ground as fireworks exploded off around him. As he was dragged along the street, his attackers shouted “Now you know how it feels. That’s Gaza.”
Another group chat message said: “Tomorrow we will work on them”. Members referred to “cancer dogs”, a particularly offensive slur in the Netherlands.
A day later, a man was filmed having jumped into a canal in a desperate attempt to flee from the mob. As he thrashed in the water, his attacker shouted, “Say free Palestine and we will let you go” and repeated the Dutch slur “Cancer Jews”.
One man was filmed by his attackers begging “I am not Jewish” before being punched in the face by the masked attacker. “This is for the children motherf***ers,” the thugs shouted.
Another video posted on X/Twitter showed a man who appeared unconscious on the street being repeatedly kicked.
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that some rioters inspired by the “Jew hunt” message in the group chat travelled from far outside Amsterdam to attack Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.
The paper also reported that Holland Casino had investigated its employees and discovered that a hired security guard was active in one of the Telegram groups.
The violence followed a video being circulated of a Maccabi fan tearing down a Palestinian flag on Wednesday. There was also allegedly a video which appeared to show Israeli fans beating up a Muslim Uber driver. On Wednesday night, Uber drivers surged towards a casino with dozens of Maccabi fans inside but Dutch police fended them off.
On Thursday, clips emerged of a large group of Maccabi supporters singing anti-Arab songs as they headed to the stadium.
Police arrested 62 people in connection with the attack, five were taken to hospital but have since been discharged.
The scenes prompted high-profile condemnation from Washington to London and Israel.
The JC contacted Bolt, Uber and WhatsApp’s owner, Meta, for comment.
