‘Cancer Jews’ 

That’s the epithet being hurled by mobs hunting Jews in the wake of the soccer pogrom.

AP Photo
In this image taken from video, police officers patrol in riot gear on the streets of Amsterdam, Monday Nov. 11, 2024, as the city is facing tensions following violence last week. AP Photo

With each passing day since the pogrom began against Israelis attending a soccer match at Amsterdam it becomes clearer that the intifada has gone global. The day before the 86th anniversary of Kristalnacht, Jews were once again set upon by mobs braying for blood. In the hours before the attacks, calls went out on social media for a Jodenjacht, or a “Jew hunt.” Some fled to the relative safety of freezing canals or hid in the shadow of Anne Frank’s attic.

At least the King of the Netherlands expressed “horror and shock.” Some cited reports of hooliganism — chants and tearing banners  — by Israeli fans as justification. Humbug. One survivor of the violence, Shachar Bitton, tells the Wall Street Journal that the assailants “knew everything. They knew exactly where we stayed. They knew exactly which hotels, which street.” On Monday, mobs are still rioting and braying kankerjoden — “cancer Jews.”  

The Jodenjacht discloses that Europe is past the tipping point. Or at the point where intifada and pogrom meet. Safety was secured for the Israeli delegation only when Israeli planes landed back at Tel Aviv. The violence that last week rocked the city of Spinoza has also erupted at Malmo, Paris, London, and as far away as a stretch of tarmac in Dagestan. One can expect this kind of serious violence to spread.

The formula that has again made Europe increasingly perilous terrain for Jews is not a difficult one to master. Unchecked immigration has delivered dramatic demographic change that has led to incitement rather than integration. Also imported has been radicalism and hatred for Jews, a hardly unknown sentiment on the continent that now finds new and virulent expression. With notable exceptions, the Europeans have capitulated. 

That is why it is heartening to see President Trump announce his intention to send Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to represent America at the United Nations. Ms. Stefanik distinguished herself by spotlighting the pusillanimity of the college presidents who would not condemn calls for the genocide of Jews without greater understanding of “context.” Now, if confirmed she will take that stiff spine to Turtle Bay, another forum where it will be an asset.

The war against the Jews that has become visible since October 7 has now gone global. When this minority is threatened, the majorities have reason to quake. Israel’s success at felling Hamas and Hezbollah is liable to antagonize those who wished that Israel was a pushover. Chants of “IDF” and “Jews” from the Dutch dementors rebut any pretense that this is anything but antisemitism. Herzl would have understood. 

The horror in Holland bears a particular sadness for students of Jewish history. The Netherlands were once a place of refuge to those expelled from Spain. So much so that Rembrandt, who lived in Amsterdam’s Jewish quarter, painted works like “The Triumph of Mordechai,” “Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law,” and “The Jewish Bride.” Not for nothing did the king apologize. He understands that his realm is headed for darkness.              


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