The violence against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam last week was found to be a premeditated and coordinated attack coordinated with extremist networks connected to a former employee of the controversial United Nations’ UNRWA organization, a group tracking online disinformation told The Algemeiner on Monday.
It was also revealed “that protests against the Maccabi Tel Aviv game in Amsterdam were part of a broader, coordinated effort,” said the group’s co-founder, Joel Finkelstein, adding that, “Amsterdam resident Ayman Nejmeh identified himself on social media as a former UNRWA employee and has in the past organized and coordinated protests against Jewish targets.”
Hundreds of Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans, who were visiting Amsterdam for a game against the local Ajax team, were attacked on Thursday night by Arab and Muslim mobs, with several ending up in hospital.
Attackers threw firecrackers and stun grenades, calling for a “Jew hunt.” They also forced Israelis to say “Free Palestine” before beating them up.
Some news outlets called the violence a response as Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were recorded chanting anti-Arab slogans and removing a Palestinian flag before the outbreak of violence. This despite the fact that Israel had issued a warning to Dutch security services ahead of the game that violence was likely to erupt after information was received that Islamic groups were coordinating a multifront attack on social media.
According to Finkelstein, the phone number of the Syrian-born Nejmeh was listed as an admin for one WhatsApp group utilized by the Palestinian diaspora group, PGNL, which Nejmeh took over from Palestinian-Dutch national Amin Abou Rashed, arrested last year on suspicion of funneling funds to Hamas.
It seems that these events were well coordinated through by radical groups to use public gatherings to incite and escalate violence, Finkelstein said, warning that authorities were not able to keep up with the pace of organized hate.
Nejmeh’s Facebook profile, which contained at least one post praising a Hamas operative, was cleared in recent days of any mention of UNRWA. “If Nejmeh is clearing his social media of these connections, we have to ask why,” Finkelstein said.
Marcus Sheff, head of IMPACT-se, a research institute monitoring UNRWA, said the findings were additional evidence of the agency’s corruption, “It’s shocking that the organizer of this violent assault is another former UNRWA teacher, funded by American taxpayers.”
The Israeli government and research organizations have publicized findings showing that many UNRWA-employed teachers were directly involved in the Hamas massacre last Oct. 7, while many others applauded it.
“We have repeatedly seen UNRWA staff, including school principals, exposed as active terrorists. If there were any lingering doubts after Oct. 7, this serves as another stark proof of a deep-seated rot within UNRWA’s organizational culture,” Sheff added.