A Druze Maccabi Tel Aviv fan protected fellow Israelis during the Amsterdam attack by speaking Arabic, Mako reported on Saturday.
Melhem Asad, from Kasra-Samia, northern Israel, had traveled with friends from Madrid to Amsterdam to attend the Maccabi Tel Aviv match and support the Israeli team.
Directly after the game, Israeli fans of the soccer team were severely attacked across Amsterdam on Thursday night in several incidents and locations. Some fans said that as they left metro stations on their way to the hotels where they were staying, groups of rioters ambushed and attacked them violently.
In some incidents, fans were run over, and in others, they were even stabbed. Others were thrown to the ground with violent punches and kicks, while the attackers demanded that the Israelis recite pro-Palestinian slogans for them to stop.
When the violent attacks erupted on the city’s streets, Asad spoke fluent Arabic to mislead attackers and protect Israeli fans. “They thought I was one of them. I told them the Jews were already gone, and they went the other way,” Mako reported.
No security
Asad recounted his experience, stating that fans were escorted into the stadium by police before the game due to recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the nearby areas. They felt safe enough during the game, but afterward, everything went wrong.
“The fans were left unprotected. We boarded trains heading to our hotels, but the local police completely mishandled the situation. There was no security. We felt totally exposed,” Asad told Mako.
As the pogrom against Israelis broke out, Asad explained how he overheard the attackers discussing in Arabic how they’d ambush fans. “Taking advantage of my knowledge of Arabic, I shouted to them, and they believed I was one of them.”
Asad told them the Jewish fans had already fled the area. “I did everything I could to confuse them, knowing exactly where our fans were. It worked. I led them in the opposite direction and ran to warn groups of Israelis that dangerous groups were looking to hurt us.”
He explained how he told fellow Israeli fans to remove Maccabi Tel Aviv jerseys and blue and yellow shirts. Asad also ran between bars and restaurants, trying to warn whoever he saw. “My goal was to save as many as I could.”
Asad said that what he saw in Amsterdam reminded him of the violent October 7 attacks. ”I believe that God placed me there at the right time to save those I could.” he told Mako.
Following the incident, emergency flights were sent from Israel, with over 2,000 citizens brought back on El Al planes.
Additionally, newly appointed Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar urgently flew to the Netherlands on Friday morning, where he met with Dutch Prime Minister Schoof and Ambassador Caspar Veldkamp to discuss the horrific incident.
“There is no justification for this violence,” Vedlkamp said. “It was a blatant, unacceptable display of antisemitism.”
