NYT kills visual probe into Amsterdam violence initiated by Israelis
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Western media, notably The New York Times, portrayed the November 6-8 riots as "anti-Semitic" while ignoring overwhelming evidence of provocation and violence by Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters.
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Israeli football club fans clash with pro-Palestine protesters in the presence of Amsterdam police in November 2024. (AP)
The New York Times has rejected an offer from one of its award-winning writers to look into the violence in Amsterdam following clashes between Israeli supporters of Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv and supporters of Palestine.
Violence erupted across Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in early November, when Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters stormed through the city, tearing down Palestinian flags displayed on private property and chanting incendiary slogans, igniting widespread outrage, with accounts of Israeli fans clashing with bystanders, damaging property, and burning the Palestinian flags.
Western media, notably The New York Times, portrayed the November 6-8 riots as "anti-Semitic" while ignoring overwhelming evidence of provocation and violence by Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters.
An email shared with the news website Electronic Intifada revealed that Dutch reporter Christiaan Triebert emailed Charlie Stadtlander, a senior manager at the NYT who had previously worked as a senior communications officer for both the US Army and the National Security Agency.
Triebert explained to the manager that he had pitched “a visual investigation I was conducting into the events of [6-8 November] in Amsterdam.”
“Unfortunately, that story was killed,” he said, expressing his "regret that the planned moment-by-moment visual investigation was not further pursued.”
"This has been very frustrating, to say the least," he wrote.
The NYT has also faced criticism for utilizing a video of Israeli football hooligan violence in Amsterdam last week to imply the exact reverse of what the video revealed.
The publication said the footage captured by Dutch photojournalist Annet de Graaf showed "anti-Semitic attacks" against Israelis, while it showed Israeli mob violence against a Dutch citizen.
For many days, the clip was appended to the top of the paper's 8 November coverage of the previous night's events in Amsterdam.
Legitimate question:
— iAnnet 🦋 (@iAnnetnl) November 9, 2024
What I explained to several media channels is that the Maccabi supporters deliberately started the riot in front of central station returning from the game. They came from two directions. Lit heavily fireworks at Damrak and gathered in front of the hotel.… https://t.co/nZckzq3Q1R
However, on Tuesday, the NYT was obliged to make a correction when Graaf publicly blasted foreign media for misrepresenting her film as proof of "anti-Semitic attacks" against Israeli football fans.
Western media also overlooked evidence, such as social media footage of Maccabi fans engaged in disruptive conduct and yelling slogans like "Why is school closed in Gaza?" "There are no children left there!"
Amsterdam mayor denounces use of 'pogrom' as propaganda
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has stated that she will no longer use the term "pogrom" when discussing the violence surrounding the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv football match earlier this month, explaining that the word has been politicized and turned into propaganda.
In a recent interview for Nieuwsuur, Halsema acknowledged the need to address the disruptions caused by Maccabi supporters and highlighted the fear felt by Jewish residents but noted the term's misuse in the aftermath.
“What I wanted to emphasize was the sadness and fear experienced by Jewish Amsterdammers,” Halsema said. “But I have to say that in the following days, I saw how the word pogrom became politicized, to the level of propaganda.
“The Israeli government spoke of a ‘Palestinian pogrom on the streets of Amsterdam’ and in The Hague the words were used to discriminate against Moroccan Amsterdammers, Muslims. That is not what I meant or what I wanted.”
During a press conference on Friday, November 8, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema acknowledged that she could understand how the “hit-and-run” attacks could “bring back memories of pogroms,” a statement she reiterated during a city hall debate the following Tuesday.
She explained that the press conference, held the Friday after the match, was organized under significant national and international pressure.
Since then, a more detailed picture of the events leading up to and following the football match has emerged, with new information shedding light on the involvement of Israeli authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasted no time responding to the events, labeling them an “extremely violent incident” against Israelis in Amsterdam.
