A self-inflicted pogrom?

(JNS) —There was a pogrom in Amsterdam—and no, it’s not 1938. Ten Israelis were injured and hundreds were attacked as they left the Maccabi Tel Aviv/Ajax soccer match on the evening of Nov. 7, just hours before the 62nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass,” in Germany and Austria.

The scene was apparently complete chaos. The video footage on social media has been harrowing; Israelis screaming things like, “Not Jewish” and “Free Palestine” to avoid the mob’s wrath. But the attacks didn’t end there. In truth, the onslaught is still coming; however, now it’s from those who actually blame us for being attacked.

It’s important to note that the visiting Israelis were not the classic examples of the docile Jew many imagine. They allegedly tore down Palestinian flags, cursed the aforementioned group and destroyed a taxicab. Many cite these facts as cause for the post-game violence, but this isn’t true.

A rabbinic colleague of mine posted on social media that the actions of the Israeli sports fans were highly irresponsible. They ignored the repercussions for the local Jewish community and put a strain on the Israeli government having to rescue them during a multifront war. His main point: We must acknowledge reality and know that if we incite the anger of our foes, then we should expect the response we incur. To him, it is no different than someone screaming “Free Palestine” or “From the River to the Sea” in a Jewish settlement in Israel.

As someone who lives in such a community, I feel it’s important to respond.

There are many imbalances in my colleague’s assessment. I agree that the soccer fans’ behavior was inappropriate and irresponsible, yet there is a major difference between the angry mob and the disrespectful Israeli sports fans: the violence only occurred in one direction. It only rained down on the Jews. Tearing down a flag, shouting disrespectful slogans and even the destruction of property are not the same as systematically hunting down human beings.

The same is true for anyone who’d come to my town yelling antisemitic slogans such as “From the river to the sea.” Although such a chant calls for the extermination of Israel and the Jews—and is highly disrespectful—I believe that person would be escorted off the premises unscathed. And if any residents tried otherwise, I’d be the first to stop them.

But a much-overlooked fact of the Amsterdam pogrom is that there is evidence that the attack was preplanned. That means that the actions of the Israeli fans were not the root cause of the ambush. If anything, they merely exacerbated the pre-existing goals of the mob. Therefore, my colleague and others like him are actually asking the Israelis, on a practical level, either not to visit the Netherlands or, if they do, to hide their Jewish identity.

This is unacceptable, especially coming from Jews.

It just so happened that as I was processing my colleague’s post, my son asked me to read him a book before bed. He chose one of my favorites, “As Good as Anybody.” It’s the story of Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s friendship and how they marched together for civil rights. Two things stood out to me while reading it this time.

I recalled how some members of the African-American community in the 1960s refrained from King’s call to action. They deemed it wiser not to ruffle the feathers of their white oppressors. I imagine they feared that the uprising would only lead to violence against them. It would have been better to hide and pray things would improve someday, somehow.

The line in the book that struck me hardest was when Heschel heeded King’s call. He felt compelled to go, saying “we must stand up for those who are less fortunate than we are.” Upon reading this, I was flooded with emotions. Where are our Kings and Heschels? Who is leading the call for moral justice in our day and age?

I was raised knowing that my parents rallied with King for civil rights. It is a source of pride for me, and I know I would do the same if called upon. But I was moved for another reason that evening it was because I realized the roles are now reversed. We Jews are the ones who need the support of our fellow men and women.

When pogroms break out in Europe, who will come to our defense? Many around the world have not only refrained from rallying, they’ve stayed silent in the face of blatant antisemitism. This all makes me feel utterly alone, even though I refuse to accept this reality. But I agree with my colleague in one respect. If we keep blaming ourselves for the attacks we’re enduring, then we are responsible for our fate.