Israel condemns Dutch ban on Hapoel Beersheva fans

(Oct. 13, 2026 / JNS)

Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Monday accused Dutch authorities of punishing the victims of antisemitic violence, after a city near Amsterdam banned Israeli soccer fans from a match.

“Two years after Israelis were hunted through the streets of Amsterdam, the Dutch answer is to ban the victims, not the attackers,” a ministry spokesperson wrote on X.

The statement was about the decision this week of local authorities in Alkmaar near Amsterdam to exclude Hapoel Beersheva fans from a match against AZ Alkmaar scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15 at Alkmaar’s AFAS Stadium.

Mayor Anja Schouten said last month of the ban on Hapoel fans that “we must say that the tensions in society have not diminished over the past two years.” This was a reference to violence directed by dozens of Muslim men in November 2024 at fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.

The violence, which some perpetrators described as a “Jew-hunt” on the social media they used to coordinate attacks, included beatings, a car ramming and several cases in which Israelis were thrown into canals.

“Alkmaar’s exclusion of fans rewards those who threaten and incite violence and runs counter to the very spirit of sport,” the ministry added. “This exclusion of Israelis comes amid a wave of antisemitic attacks in the Netherlands, fueled by anti-Israel incitement from Dutch politicians and public figures. Banning Israeli fans from attending the match, like boycotting Eurovision, is yet another stain on the Netherlands, as the country increasingly becomes one of the world’s leading hotspots for antisemitism.”