Maccabi Tel Aviv Soccer Fans Receive Compensation From Netherlands for Amsterdam Attack
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters are guarded by police after violence targeting Israeli football fans broke out in Amsterdam overnight, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 8, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ami Shooman/Israel Hayom
A number of Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans who were violently attacked on the streets of Amsterdam five months ago are being given financial compensation for the onslaught, according to the Tel Aviv-based law firm that coordinated legal efforts on behalf of the victims.
“Our office received the news that the authorities in the Netherlands have made a decision to compensate Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, who experienced riots when the football game in Amsterdam ended,” the law firm Dr. Gideon Fisher & Co., which represented the Maccabi fans in partnership with a Dutch team, announced in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “This is a first and significant step towards doing justice to the fans who were attacked, and our office continues to work to file additional claims and exercise the rights of additional victims.”
In November 2024, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were brutally assaulted in the Dutch capital after watching the Israeli soccer team compete again the Dutch club Ajax in a European League match. During the premeditated and coordinated violence on Nov. 7, Maccabi soccer fans were chased with knives and sticks in several locations around the city, run over by cars, physically beaten, and some were forced by their attackers to say “Free Palestine” to avoid further assault. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema called the attackers “antisemitic hit-and-run squads” who went “Jew hunting.”
Compensation for victims of the attack ranges from 1,000 to 35,000 Euros ($1,113–$38,958) and is being issued through the Netherlands’ Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, according to Ynet.
The amount a person receives is determined by the severity of their physical injury or emotional damage. Those who experienced multiple injuries, or both physical and psychological trauma, may qualify for higher amounts, and those who only experienced mental trauma also qualify for compensation, the Israeli publication added. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund processes claims within 26 weeks, and the compensation is separate from any future lawsuits that might be filed on behalf of victims.
Victims of the Amsterdam attack who have yet to file a claim can still submit applications to receive compensation from the fund, through efforts led by Dr. Gideon Fisher & Co.
“Justice will be served,” said attorney Dr. Gideon Fischer, as cited by Ynet. “We must not remain silent when soccer fans are attacked solely because of their origin. I’m pleased that the first group of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans who submitted evidence of harm are beginning to receive compensation … We continue to work with our Dutch partners to support others affected by the Amsterdam riots.”
In late December, a Dutch court sentenced five men for participating in the violent attacks, but their punishment was widely criticized by pro-Israel supporters for being inadequate.
