Tom Homan, the new border czar president-elect Donald Trump will put in charge of the US – Mexican border crisis, told immigrants in the U.S. to start packing.
The Netherlands, one of the most liberal and most open countries for refugees, announced they would control their national borders to Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg again after they dealt with screams from Tel Aviv about rising anti-Semitism in their kingdom.
Every year, ten-thousands Israeli visitors of all ages enjoy a city break in Holland. They spend perfect days visiting the museums, shops, and, of course, the many bars and restaurants. Together with ten-thousands of fellow visitors from all corners of the world, they make new friends. Amsterdam as a city and the Netherlands as a free country have contributed tremendously to the reality of Peace Through Tourism.
However, Dutch Minister Dick Schoof on Saturday canceled his trip to United Nations climate talks in Azerbaijan so that he could stay in the Netherlands to deal with the fallout from a soccer game that brought young fans from Israel to Amsterdam.
Here is what happened: Pro-Palestinian supporters were denied a permit to hold peaceful protests on the sideline of a Saturday soccer game against an Israeli team.
Instead, videos showed large crowds of Israeli football fans chanting anti-Arab slogans on their way to the game.
In response, pro-Palestine groups organized a reaction on social media.
Not allowed to get to the game but verbally assaulted by Israeli fans, some youths were offended and took it too far.
After the game, some on foot and some on scooters crisscrossed the city in search of Israeli fans, punching and kicking them and then fleeing quickly to evade police.
Five Israeli visitors were treated in hospitals, dozens of people were arrested, and the Jewish community started speaking out.
His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands, was in a state of shock and responded: ‘We failed the Jewish community during WWII; last night, we failed again.’
Violence around soccer games in Europe is not new and almost expected. It contributed to concerns over security when Germany hosted the European Championship.
In Berlin, Germany, recently, such clashes occurred between weapon-wielding football fans. It often includes organized fights between hundreds of supporters. Late-night attacks. Life-threatening injuries.
Once, of course, if it touches the Israel-Palestinian conflict, it has all the ingredients to be the cause of global attention and antisemitic behavior.
This provocation in Amsterdam got even more out of proportion when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu got involved from his office in Tel Aviv and compared the attack with “Kristallnacht.” To make this even more dramatic, he planned to send evacuation planes to the Dutch capital, shaming Dutch authorities that their country was unsafe and antisemitic country.
The result of this incident will be new Dutch border controls. It can only be hoped this will not just become the start of a witch hunt against the Jewish and Arab communities in Holland, one of the most liberal and tourist-friendly country in the world.