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THE HAGUE: The Netherlands is still dealing with the social and political fallout of violence a week ago in the streets of Amsterdam between supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv and men on scooters.
The attacks have put Amsterdam, famous for its tolerance and diverse community, on edge, with police and authorities ramping up security measures.
Supporters of the Maccabi Tel Aviv club were chased by men on scooters and beaten after a Europa League match against Ajax in Amsterdam on November 7.
Dutch authorities also reported Maccabi fans setting fire to a Palestinian flag before the match, chanting anti-Arab slurs and vandalising a taxi.
The violence took place against the backdrop of an increasingly polarized Europe, with heightened tensions following a rise in anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli and Islamophobic attacks since the start of the war in Gaza.
Police, prosecutors and other law authorities have launched a massive probe into the incidents surrounding the Maccabl-Ajax match, making eight arrests so far.
During a parliamentary debate late on Wednesday, Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel said the investigation was “racing ahead” and that police so far were targeting 29 suspects, based on images taken on the night.
Van Weel said investigations were hampered by perpetrators wearing hoodies and that the incidents happened at night.
At the same debate, far-right MP Geert Wilders, leader of the biggest party in the coalition government, claimed the perpetrators of the violence against Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans were “all Muslims” and “for the most part Moroccans.”
The anti-Islam Wilders called for the attackers to be prosecuted “for terrorism, lose their passports and kicked out of the country.”
But opposition parties condemned Wilders’ statements, saying he was “pouring oil on the fire, abusing the genuine fear and pain of one group to stoke hate against another.”
Many opposition politicians and commentators said although anti-Semitism was abhorrent, the violence was not one-side, pointing out Maccabi supporters had chanted anti-Arab slurs, vandalized a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag.
On Monday, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof promised “hard action” against those responsible for attacks on Maccabi supporters, referring to the perpetrators as men “with a migration background.”
Schoof is widely expected to announce a raft of measures to combat anti-Semitism following a cabinet meeting on Friday.
This includes heavier sentences for people found guilty of anti-Semitism and a proposal by the Christian-based opposition CDA party that they should be obliged to make a visit to Dutch World War II deportation camps for Jews.
Both Amsterdam’s Jewish and Muslim communities are still reeling in the aftermath of last week’s incident.
Schoof told parliamentarians he regarded the outpouring of violence “as an integration problem” in the country and specifically in cities like Amsterdam.
Long known as a refuge for Jews, the Dutch capital’s reputation was tarnished when tens of thousands of Jewish residents were deported to Nazi death camps during the World War II, including Anne Frank and her family.
Today “the Jewish community is under a lot of pressure,” Chanan Hertzberger, chairman of the country’s umbrella Central Jewish Consultation (CJO) group said earlier this week after meeting Schoof.
“Real measures are needed against anti-Semitism, including new legislation and heavier sentences,” Hertzberger said.
But a representative of Amsterdam’s Muslim community said it was unfair from politicians to target a whole community because of the actions of a few.
“It is disappointing that the incident is being politicized and abused,” said Said Bouharrou, board member at the Contact Organization Muslim and Government.
“I am shocked by politicians who, instead of de-escalating, are actually adding fuel to the fire. There is talk of an integration problem and of taking away dual nationality,” he told the NOS public broadcaster.
“In this way, an entire community is being dismissed as a problem case. There are a million Muslims in the Netherlands who are doing incredibly well and who reject any form of anti-Semitism,” Bouharrou said.
Dutch police said on Thursday they had opened an inquiry into alleged police brutality during and after a banned pro-Palestinian protest in Amsterdam in which 281 demonstrators were detained.
Social media footage showed riot police hitting protesters with batons after they were bussed to the outskirts of the Dutch capital following Wednesday night’s protest.

NEW DELHI: New Delhi woke to a thick layer of toxic smog engulfing the city on Thursday, with residents afraid to step outside as the air quality deteriorated to severe levels.

Pollution in the Indian capital and surrounding areas was in the severe category for the second day in a row, with some areas reaching an Air Quality Index score of 461, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. On the AQI scale from 0 to 500, good air quality is represented by levels below 50, while levels above 300 are dangerous.

The severe pollution forced many residents to remain indoors to avoid getting sick.

“For the past two days, it has been particularly bad. I have stopped working out and walking in the open. I am doing basic exercises at home. Children are also falling sick,” said Sunieta Ojha, a lawyer in Delhi.

Bhavreen Kandhari, an activist in south Delhi, said it was “heartbreaking” that her children had to grow up in such conditions.

“It feels so disappointing, it is getting worse. I am trying to make things better so that my children don’t face this,” she said.

“There is no running, no walking. Because of the pollution, I withdrew my teenage girls some years back from playing basketball.”

According to IQAir, a Swiss-based Air Quality Index, monitoring group, the Indian capital was the world’s second most polluted city on Thursday, after nearby Lahore, the capital of Punjab province in Pakistan.

“The air pollution levels are already in the severe category and it’s highly toxic to breathe in,” said Shambhavi Shukla, clean air and sustainable mobility program manager at the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.

The main pollutant, she said, was PM 2.5, particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 microns — about 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

“The concentration of these particles is extremely high right now,” she said. “Even a healthy person exposed to this kind of air will have trouble in breathing, so that’s a common thing that they will start developing some breathing issues.”

The sources of Delhi pollution were local — vehicles, construction sites, residential cooking, and waste burning — and those from neighboring areas — mainly the annual fires in India’s northwest and southeast, as farmers clear stubble to prepare fields to plant wheat.

“In the last two days what is also happening is that there is no wind, so there is no movement (of the air),” Shukla said, explaining that the pollution brought earlier from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, which had accumulated in Delhi, was also trapped as a result of the colder weather, which prevented the pollutants from rising and dispersing.

“There is a prediction that in the next three days we will again go back to the very poor air category ... As soon as the wind picks up, this pollution will start dispersing.”