What a match in Amsterdam says about Israel’s future in football
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 12 November 2024
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Israeli football fans took to the streets of Amsterdam, chanting slogans like “no children left in Gaza” and tearing down Palestinian flags before a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch team Ajax. After the game, when more violence broke out, many called it an act of anti-Semitism, while others saw impunity for Israelis.
In this episode:
-
Tony Karon (@TonyKaron), Managing Editor, AJ+
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by David Enders and Chloe K. Li with Tamara Khandaker, Hagir Saleh, Duha Mosaad, Cole van Miltenburg, and our host, Kevin Hirten, in for Malika Bilal. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, what really happened when Israeli football fans came to the streets of Amsterdam? |
| 0:16.0 | Authorities in both the Netherlands and Israel have been quick to describe last night's riots as anti-Semitic. |
| 0:22.6 | Tensions had been mounting for days, and the aggression was not one-sided. |
| 0:28.6 | Was this a targeted attack on a religious group, or the latest example of Israeli impunity on the world stage? |
| 0:36.6 | I'm Kevin Horton, and this is The Take. Israeli impunity on the world stage. |
| 0:40.7 | I'm Kevin Horton, and this is The Take. |
| 0:49.3 | First, the facts. |
| 0:55.6 | On Thursday, November 7th, Israel's top football team, |
| 1:00.3 | Maccabee Tel Aviv, played a Europa League match against the Dutch side, Iax. |
| 1:03.2 | The security situation was already tense. |
| 1:07.8 | This video shows Israeli fans gathering and lighting flares. |
| 1:13.1 | Police say Maccabee fans ripped down a Palestinian flag. |
| 1:18.8 | The night before, Maccabee fans were spotted pulling down a Palestinian flag and roaming the city chanting anti-Arab slogans. |
| 1:29.7 | This is what they were chanting there. |
| 1:34.1 | There's no schools in Gaza because there are no children left. |
| 1:39.8 | Maccabi supporters ripped a flag from building, on the rocking, |
| 1:41.6 | and they destroyed the taxi. |
| 1:45.5 | On Dom Square, a Palestinian flag was set on fire. |
| 2:00.1 | On match day, police officers were called up to escort about 1,000 Maccabee fans into the stadium. Inside the stadium, the situation deteriorated further when Israeli fans shouted through a minute of silence for the victims of the recent floods in Spain, because Spain recognizes Palestine. |
| 2:13.6 | It was after the match when things kicked off. |
| 2:16.6 | Groups on scooters targeted Maccabee fans and the riot police intervened. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Al Jazeera, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Al Jazeera and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.