Pro-Palestinian rioters clash with police at Amsterdam Hanukkah event hours after deadly antisemitic terror attack in Sydney

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police at Amsterdam’s Museum Square close to a Hanukkah event with the participation of the Israel Defense Force’s chief cantor Shai Abramson. The clash erupted merely hours after two Islamist terrorists murdered at least 16 Jews at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia.

In addition, 40 people were injured in the antisemitic Sydney terrorist attack, and several remain in critical condition. The rioters in the Netherlands chanted anti-Israel slogans such as “blood on your hands” and “child killers,” referring to the Hamas-initiated war in Gaza. Some of the rioters succeeded in climbing over the police barriers. Dutch police arrested at least 22 rioters, stressing that they “intervened several times to remove demonstrators and maintain public order.”

Like in many Western nations, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish incidents have soared in the Netherlands following the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre in 2023. The Royal Concert Hall in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw) initially decided to ban the IDF chief cantor’s participation in the Hanukkah event due to “the IDF’s active involvement in a controversial war,” referring to the Hamas-initiated Gaza war.

However, the concert venue reversed its decision last month on Abramson’s participation after the Chanukah Concert Foundation threatened to take legal action over what it termed “restriction of religious freedom.”

David Serphos, a board member and spokesperson for the Chanukah Concert Foundation, explained that the concert hall’s initial decision to ban the IDF chief cantor “caused a lot of pain” among many Dutch Jews.  

“It’s situated in a part of the city where a lot of Jews live,” Serphos stated. “A lot of Jews go to the Concertgebouw either weekly or monthly. They are regular guests."

Israel’s Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli also criticized the Dutch concert hall’s initial decision to ban the IDF cantor from the Jewish event. 

“Once again, Jews are being told that their identity, their art, and their connection to Israel make them unwelcome,” Chikli stated. 

Meanwhile, Jonpaul Sione Yohanan Cohen, a Jewish resident of Redlands, California, revealed on social media that shots were fired over the weekend at his Hanukkah decorated family home. 

“My family and I were attacked by an antisemitic shooter,” Cohen wrote on social media. He recalled that he heard people outside a neighbor’s home shouting “Free Palestine” merely minutes before the shooting incident. 

Security has been raised around Hanukkah celebrations and synagogues worldwide following the Sydney massacre. 

“We will continue to ensure the Jewish community can celebrate the holiday in safety – including at public Menorah lightings across the city. Let us pray for the injured and stand together against hatred,” New York Mayor Eric Adams wrote on 𝕏.

The London Metropolitan Police announced that they had increased security around the Jewish community. 

“While there is no information to suggest any link between the attack in Sydney and the threat level in London, this morning we are stepping up our police presence, carrying out additional community patrols and engaging with the Jewish community to understand what more we can do in the coming hours and days,” the police stated. 

Police also increased security measures around Jewish sites and Hanukkah celebrations in the German capital Berlin and in the French capital Paris.