A fragile calm hangs over the Dutch capital, still reeling from the unrest that erupted a week ago when Israeli football fans were attacked in central Amsterdam.

City officials described the violence as a “toxic combination of anti-Semitism, hooliganism and anger” over the war in Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.

As the streets are cleared of Maccabi Ultras stickers and tensions persist, there is concern about the damage to relations between Amsterdam’s Jewish and Muslim communities.

Tensions have also spilled over into Dutch politics.

The Dutch coalition government is hanging by a thread after a young minister of Moroccan origin resigned over the language used by his coalition colleagues.

Amsterdam had already seen protests and tensions because of the war in the Middle East, and local rabbi Lody van de Kamp said it was like a tinderbox: “If you put 2,000 (Israeli) soccer fans in the street, you know you are in a crisis situation. worry.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had arrived in the city for a Europa League match against Ajax and images were widely shared the previous night showing a group of supporters scaling a wall to tear down and burn a Palestinian flag.

An Amsterdam City Council report says taxis have also been attacked and vandalized.

Emine Uğur, a well-known columnist in the Muslim community, says the underlying tensions surrounding the Gaza war mean the violence that followed was “a long time coming.”

She talks about the lack of recognition of the pain felt by communities affected by a conflict that has left many people with no outlet for their grief and frustration.

The flag burning incident as well as the anti-Arab chants were considered a deliberate provocation.

But messages calling for retaliation later appeared on social media, some using frightening terms such as “Jew hunting.”

On the evening of the match, a pro-Palestinian demonstration was removed from the Johan Cruyff arena, but it was in the hours that followed that violence broke out.

The 12-page report from Amsterdam authorities describes some Maccabi fans “committing acts of vandalism” in the center.

Next, it highlights “small groups of rioters…engaged in violent hit-and-run actions targeting Israeli supporters and nightlife people” in several downtown locations. They moved “on foot, by scooter or by car… committing serious attacks”.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema called the incidents deeply alarming and noted that for some they were reminiscent of historic pogroms against Jews.

For a few hours, entire sections of the Jewish community in a European capital felt under siege.

These events coincided with the anniversary of the Nazi pogroms against Jews in 1938, also known as Kristallnacht.

This only intensified the fears of Amsterdam’s Jewish community, even though local imams and other members of the Muslim community participated in the commemorations.

High-ranking members, including Esther Voet, editor-in-chief of the Dutch Jewish weekly, organized emergency shelters and coordinated rescue efforts for those who feared for their lives.

The Dutch government responded by allocating €4.5 million (£3.6 million) to combat antisemitism and support victims.

Justice Minister David van Weel stressed that Jews must feel safe in their own country and promised to deal severely with the perpetrators.

However, Jewish Central Committee Chairman Chanan Hertzberger warned that these measures alone may not be enough.

He partly blamed an atmosphere in which “anti-Semitic rhetoric has gone unchecked since October 7,” adding: “Our history teaches us that when people say they want to kill you, they mean it and they will try.” . »

The violence and its consequences also highlighted political divisions, and certain comments made by politicians shocked the Moroccan community in the Netherlands.

Geert Wilders, whose far-right Freedom Party is the largest of the four parties that make up the Dutch coalition government, has called for the expulsion of dual nationals guilty of anti-Semitism.

He and coalition partner Caroline van der Plas pointed the finger, among others, at young people of Moroccan or North African origin.

A Dutch-Moroccan commentator, Hassnae Bouazza, complained that her community had been accused for years of not being integrated and was now under threat of having their Dutch nationality taken away.

Nadia Bouras, a Dutch historian of Moroccan origin, told Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool that using the term “integration” to refer to people who had already lived in the Netherlands for four generations was tantamount to “taking them hostage.” .

“You’re keeping them in a constant state of being foreign, even though they’re not. »

The secretary of state for social benefits, Nora Achahbar, born in Morocco but raised in the Netherlands, said Friday that she was withdrawing from the government because of racist comments she heard during a meeting of the cabinet Monday, three days after the violence. in Amsterdam.

She may not be the last.

Rabbi van de Kamp told the BBC he was concerned that anti-Semitism was being politicized to promote Islamophobic agendas.

He warns against repeating exclusionary attitudes reminiscent of the 1930s, warning that such rhetoric not only endangers Jewish communities but deepens suspicions within society: “We must show that we cannot not become enemies. »

The impact on Amsterdam’s Muslim and Jewish residents is profound.

Many Jews removed mezuzahs – small Torah scrolls – from their doors, or covered them with tape for fear of reprisals.

Esther Voet notes the emotional impact on her community: “It is an exaggeration to say that the Netherlands today is like it was in the 1930s, but we need to pay attention and speak out when we see something wrong. “

Muslims, for their part, say they are being blamed for the actions of a small minority, even before the perpetrators have been identified.

Columnist Emine Uğur herself faces growing threats as a Muslim woman who speaks out: “People feel emboldened.”

She fears for her son’s future in a polarized society where the lines of division seem to be hardening.

Academics and community leaders have called for de-escalation and mutual understanding.

Bart Wallet, professor of Jewish studies at the University of Amsterdam, stresses the need for careful terminology, warning against equating recent violence with pogroms of the past.

Like others, he hopes the violence is an isolated incident rather than a sign of growing ethnic polarization.

Mayor Femke Halsema is adamant that anti-Semitism must not be followed by other forms of racism, emphasizing that the safety of one group should not come at the expense of another.

The violence has caused Amsterdam to question its identity as a diverse and tolerant city.

There is a collective recognition, in the Dutch capital and beyond, that as residents seek to rebuild trust, they must address the tensions that fueled the unrest.

Rubbing his hands against the cold in front of Amsterdam cyclists, Rabbi van de Kamp remembers his mother’s words: “We have the right to be very angry, but we must never hate.”