Violent attacks against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans following a soccer match in Amsterdam on Thursday evening left several Israelis wounded and were likely to have been a result of a pre-planned attack against Jews organized in a Telegram group, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported on Friday.
An alleged “Jew hunt” was announced well in advance in the messaging app Telegram, prompting rioters to travel from far outside Amsterdam to attack Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Jewish people, De Telegraaf reported.
Already on Wednesday nights, Amsterdam’s city center had been the site of similar incidents, the Dutch paper noted.
Several taxi drivers were also reported to be involved in the attack on Israelis, as they arrived in central Amsterdam to target groups of Israelis, De Telegraaf stated.
One Israeli ended up in one of Amsterdam’s canals, while others hid at the Holland Casino. An investigation by Holland Casino revealed that a hired security guard was active in one of the Telegram groups where information was exchanged between perpetrators, De Telegraaf alleged.
The Dutch paper reported that, according to the casino, the security guard will no longer be hired back.