Dutch police have launched a probe into an anti-Semitic mural found on a Rotterdam street featuring a popular Dutch soccer player who signed with a rival team historically associated with Jews.
The mural showed soccer player Steven Berghuis wearing a yarmulke and concentration camp uniform, with his nose drawn exaggeratingly large – a typical feature of anti-Semitic caricatures. In huge letters next to the caricature, the moral stated: “Jews always run away.” Berghuis, who is not Jewish, is leaving the Rotterdam-based Feyenoord team for their longtime rival Ajax, based in Amsterdam.
Ajax is associated with Jews due to the strong presence of Jews in Amsterdam for centuries as well as the fact that in the 60s and 70s, the team had several Jewish chairmen and players.
Over the years, the fans of the team adopted the Jewish identity as their theme, and at matches often wave Israeli flags, wear stars of David, and call themselves “SuperJews.”
The team’s “Jewish” connection, which at this point has nothing to do with religion but is just a “shtick” of the team’s fans, invites much anti-Semitic abuse from fans of rival teams, with rival fans even chanting: “Hamas, Jews to the gas” at many matches.
Anti-Semitic abuse is a frequent occurrence at soccer matches, not only in the Netherlands but throughout Europe. The UK also has a soccer team traditionally associated with Jews.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
Europe is now, and always was, a hotbed of antisemitism. This never changed. Sometimes very openly and sometimes less openly but never less antisemitic.
Antisemitism is still tolerated and acceptable in Europe.