WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) and IWF’s Center for American Safety and Security (CASS) forcefully condemn the extreme and antisemitic attacks that occurred against Jews and Israelis in Amsterdam, who were visiting the Netherlands simply to support Israel’s national soccer team. This violence, occurring just days before the anniversary of Kristallnacht, serves as a somber reminder of past atrocities in Europe and the urgent need for world leaders to stand resolutely against antisemitism.
IWF’s Center for American Safety and Security experts issued the following statements:
Meaghan Mobbs, director of Center for American Safety and Security at Independent Women’s Forum, said:
“The violence in Amsterdam, with Jewish citizens hunted in the streets, is an appalling reminder of the growing wave of anti-Semitism that has gripped Western Europe, and the world. What we are witnessing is not random but appears as a coordinated attack, a modern-day pogrom that demands a strong and immediate response. If this assault was orchestrated, it is essential that authorities quickly determine who is behind it and why. The tragic rise of anti-Semitic incidents since October 7 reflects a broader crisis — a consequence of failed social and immigration policies that have allowed extremism to fester. European governments must address this rising tide with decisive action to protect Jewish communities and safeguard the vulnerable.”
Dr. Qanta Ahmed, senior fellow at Independent Women’s Forum, said:
“We are horrified by the scenes of violent, deliberate and rampant antisemitism against Israelis visiting the Netherlands to support the Macabee football team – Israel’s national football team. That this attack should occur on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht is especially grotesque – and a shameful reminder of the history of Nazism in the Netherlands. It is abhorrent that the authorities reportedly had advance notice of these events and clear warning during the match as anti-Semitic threatening chants were directed at Israelis. Jews have been persecuted globally with extraordinary intensity since October 7 the worst assault on the Jewish people since the holocaust. That the Netherlands could not protect these Jews is a shocking disgrace and that the self described Pro Palestinian perpetrators appear to be Muslims is a particular signal of untrammeled Islamist extremism allowed to flourish in the name of liberal democracy. Islamism is expert at exploiting secular, pluralistic democracy, and this is the result. We stand with the Jewish people as Americans and myself personally as an American Muslim who rejects Islamism.
“Europe has failed the Jewish people once before almost to their extinction – a devastating loss to humanity. We demand The Netherlands, and Europe, protect the Jewish people today and prosecute the perpetrators to the harshest degree. Our sincerest sympathies to the victims of this heinous violence.”
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