Netherlands lists Israel as threatening state actor alongside Iran, Russia, Turkey

The National Coordinator for Terrorism and Security (NCTV) report, released on July 17, lists Israel as one of the countries that aims to "control public opinion and political decision making."

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-862419

For the first time, Israel is listed alongside Iran, Russia, and Turkey in the Netherlands' Threat Assessment of State Actors 2025, with the Jewish state listed as one of the countries that aims to "control public opinion and political decision making." The report, made by the National Coordinator for Terrorism and Security (NCTV), was released on July 17. It maps out threats posed by state actors to the Netherlands, such as through economic pressure, espionage, or military threat.

In the section about 'Subversive Influence to Alter Public Perception,' NCTV writes that "Israel is also attempting to influence political and public opinion abroad, including in the Netherlands." Israel is placed among apparently equable state threats from Iran, Russia, and Turkey. NCTV provides the example of a report disseminated by the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora and Combating Antisemitism following the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv violent attacks in November 2024.

"The report was not shared through official channels with the Dutch government but was sent directly to specific politicians and journalists," said NCTV. "The way in which it was disseminated was described by the Dutch Ministers of Justice and Security and of Foreign Affairs as unusual and, due to potential negative consequences for Dutch residents, undesirable." "In this way, the individuals mentioned could be intimidated or threatened, or in the worst case, attacked."

Implications that Israel incited violence during Amsterdam clashes

The NCTV report seems to be implying that the Israeli government attempted to incite violence against those involved in the attacks. Israel is mentioned for a second time later in the report in a section named "[Dutch] Institutions targeted by state actors." This part discusses "Well-known targets of state interference in the Netherlands," citing the examples of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. It claims that the United States and Israel "publicly issued threats towards the court, and the United States has imposed sanctions," putting the court's operations at risk.

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related


November 2024 Amsterdam riots

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2024_Amsterdam_riots

On 6 and 7 November 2024, before and after a UEFA Europa League football match in Amsterdam between Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. and Dutch club AFC Ajax, tensions over the Gaza war escalated to violence. Targets of the violence included an Arab taxi driver, Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, and pro-Palestinian protesters. Seven people, including five Israelis, were sent to hospital and 20–30 people sustained light injuries.

The evening before the match, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were filmed pulling Palestinian flags from houses, making racist anti-Arab chants such as "death to Arabs", assaulting people, and vandalising local property. Plans to attack Israeli fans were subsequently shared through messaging apps with one chat calling for a "Jew hunt".After the match, Maccabi fans were ambushed and assaulted across the city centre, while a group of Maccabi fans around Damrak was recorded assaulting people and vandalising local property.

The attacks on Israeli fans were condemned as antisemitic by Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema, Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof, King Willem-Alexander, and several international leaders. The failure to condemn the Israeli fans' attacks, and the characterisation of such condemnation as "antisemitic", was also described as being one-sided.

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The Maccabi Tel Aviv fan base is known to include far-right ultra groups that have been involved in racist incidents in Israel in the past, including directing racist abuse at Arab and black players on their own team.

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Tensions rose on the evening of 6 November, when 200 Maccabi supporters walked through the city centre and taxi drivers shouted "free Palestine" when passing them. There were also reports of Maccabi supporters shouting "fuck you Palestine". A group of Maccabi Fanatics chased two men, beating one with a belt as he tried to escape in a taxi. After the police arrived, the group ran away, joining other Maccabi ultras, nearly all of whom wore black clothing instead of team colours, walking towards Rokin. This group of around 50 Maccabi supporters gathered in front of Villa Mokum, a squat where several Palestinian flags were displayed.

Residents of the squat barricaded themselves inside while one of the ultras ripped the flags off. Maccabi fans reportedly kicked the doors and tried to enter the house, threatening to kill the residents. Video footage showed a police car passing without stopping, leading to criticism on social media. A group of supporters vandalised a nearby taxi, including hitting the window with an object and trying to force the windows and doors open, while the driver was inside.

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Aftermath

Seven people were hospitalised and eventually released, while approximately 20 to 30 others sustained minor injuries. Following the return of Maccabi fans to Israel, a video was posted on social media showing them chanting the racist slogans they had chanted in Amsterdam, including: "Why is school out in Gaza? There are no children left there."




https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/maccabi-fans-filmed-chanting-racist-slogans-against-arabs-upon-arrival-at-ben-gurion-from-amsterdam/



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Media reporting

The UK's Sky News and Israel's Channel 12 were criticised for editing reports and deleting social media posts referencing the anti-Arab behaviour of Israeli fans. Sky News removed references to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans tearing down a flag, even though the three men on video could be heard speaking Hebrew, and deleted a reference to Maccabi fans attacking locals. Channel 12 deleted a post about Maccabi Tel Aviv fans tearing down a Palestinian flag and having altercations with Muslim taxi drivers after the network faced backlash, including from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son Yair, who asked: "Whose side is Channel 12 on?" on his Telegram channel.

Dutch photographer Annet de Graaf filmed Maccabi supporters attacking Amsterdammers, but many media outlets initially misreported that the video showed an "antisemitic" mob beating Israelis. The New York Times attributed this to an error made by Reuters, who syndicated the footage. Several media outlets issued a correction or clarification, including The Guardian, The New York Times, the BBC, DW, and Tagesschau.

The Electronic Intifada reported that The New York Times had cancelled a visual investigation by one of its Dutch reporters to reconstruct the moment-by-moment chronology of events in Amsterdam. In an email sent to senior Times editor Charlie Stadtlander, which was accidentally sent to Electronic Intifada, reporter Christiaan Triebert complained about the cancellation of the investigation and said that the U.S. newspaper's coverage had distorted events, such as the Israeli attacks against locals filmed by De Graaf. Triebert also voiced frustration that the video was removed after the Times issued its correction, when it could have been used to illustrate the actions of Israeli fans.

Guardian columnist Owen Jones criticised media coverage of the events for failing to cover the Israeli supporters' behaviour in the run-up to the clashes, saying, "if you condemn racist fanatics literally relishing in the mass slaughter of children, then you will be branded a hateful bigot". Marc Owen Jones, a disinformation expert and associate professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, said that media outlets from The New York Times to the BBC had given a "ridiculously skewed" version of events and "uncritically embraced what looked like an Israeli government press release".

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