”It cannot be business as usual from now on when it comes to fighting antisemitism,’’ they say.

“People roaming the streets in masks asking people if they were Jewish then assaulting them and throwing them into canals. This is Europe now in 2024.”

”We want to be heard. We need action.”

‘”Wake up! A cancer of Jew hate is plaguing the continent. From here on in, it cannot be business as usual when it comes to antisemitism,” said the Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands Binyomin Jacobs, President of IPOR Jewish Communities Ellen Van Praagh and the Chairman of the European Jewish Association Rabbi Menachem in a statement on Friday following a series of brutal assaults against Israeli citizens Thursday night in Amsterdam.

The attacks followed a football match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax Amsterdam in the framework of the Europa League.

“We are shocked but not surprised at the disgusting scenes we saw last night in the Dutch Capital. This was not hooliganism. Hooliganism is a regular occurrence at football games. The heavy presence of police and security forces in Amsterdam last night attests to this. They were prepared and ready for it. Antisemitism is the only motive here,’’ they said.

“But what followed afterwards – these disgusting and brutal assaults, are the strongest example of the extreme antisemitism, the all-pervading Jew hatred, that is running like a cancer throughout the continent. When writers like Herman Brusselmans can say with impunity that he wants to stick a knife in the throat of every Jew he meets, this is the outcome,’’ the Jewish leaders added..

“People roaming the streets in masks asking people if they were Jewish then assaulting them and throwing them into canals. This is Europe now in 2024,’’ they stressed.

“While we welcome the statements of support and outrage from the Dutch Government, and their reaching out to us, a much pro-active more approach is needed. There must be meaningful engagement with the Jewish community from the Dutch Government . We want to be heard. We need action,’’ they said.

“We call this hate a Cancer. It requires immediate surgery. These assaults are not an isolated incident. It is part of a much bigger picture of Jew hate since October 7th in the Netherlands, Jews cannot take public transport, they are fearful,’’ they said, deploring that every day across the continent, hundreds of smaller incidents of Jew hate take place. ‘’but they do not receive the public response, nor the government response they deserve.’’

“We say to the Dutch government and governments across Europe: wake up. It cannot be business as usual from now on when it comes to fighting antisemitism,’’ they concluded.