Dutch minister sparks coalition crisis over criticism of Muslim perpetrators of Amsterdam pogrom

The Dutch government nearly collapsed on Friday when junior finance minister, Nora Achahbar, quit the government coalition. Following the Amsterdam pogrom against Jewish and Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans, Achahbar, who is of Moroccan descent, reportedly “felt comments by several ministers about last week’s events had crossed a line, with hurtful and possibly racist comments about the attacks on the Israeli fans,” according to Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.

The Dutch ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Dick Schoof, holds 88 seats in Parliament and consists of Achahbar’s New Social Contract (NSC) Party, Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV), the Liberal VVD Party and the farmer-friendly BBB Party.

Achahbar’s resignation threatened to collapse the government, but during an emergency meeting on Friday, the coalition reached a deal allowing NSC to remain. Other cabinet ministers who had also threatened to resign over the comments were persuaded to stay.

Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders issued the strongest condemnation against the Muslim participants who attacked Israeli soccer fans last week.

“Pogrom in the streets of Amsterdam. We have become the Gaza of Europe. Muslims with Palestinian flags hunting down Jews. I will NOT accept that. NEVER. The authorities will be held accountable for their failure to protect the Israeli citizens. Never again,” Wilders vowed.

Wilder also told reporters he wanted the perpetrators to be tracked down, tried in court and put in prison.

“The rule of law in the Netherlands is in the dustbin at the moment, that the perpetrators have not been arrested,” he said. “And there was no one arrested that Thursday night,” added Wilders, referring to the Dutch police’s passivity, as the pogrom unfolded.

“Track them down and put them in prison for as long as possible. As far as I am concerned because these are terrorist acts, treat them as terrorists and take away their citizenship,” Wilders said, adding that the perpetrators should be stripped of their passports and deported back to Morocco, even if they were born in the Netherlands.

On Monday, Schoof said the attacks proved that some youth with an immigrant background did not share “Dutch core values.”

Following the Friday emergency meeting, Schoof stated: “The outcome of today's talks is that this cabinet wants to be a cabinet for all Dutch people ...We have spoken long and well with each other and have every confidence that there was and is no racism in the factions and the cabinet. This is the cabinet that fights against racism, against anti-Semitism and against discrimination and for a Netherlands where everyone can live in freedom,” he said.

On Nov. 8, after the soccer game between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam, gangs of mainly Arab and North African men orchestrated a pogrom, which they live-streamed. One man recorded himself in his car: “Today we’re going to hunt Jews,” he said.

Footage on social media showed Israeli soccer fans being beaten and chased with knives, while others tried to hit the Israeli victims with vehicles. Several videos on social media showed Israelis fleeing from the rioters by jumping into the canals.

In one video, a man is seen being kicked to the ground while shouting, “I’m not Jewish,” while another allegedly shows a mob storming a hotel where they suspected Israeli fans were staying.

The antisemitic attack appeared to have been planned and coordinated on WhatsApp and Telegram in advance. The taxi service network in Amsterdam allegedly played a pivotal role in the attacks, with some Muslim taxi drivers reportedly leading Israeli passengers into pre-orchestrated ambushes.