Photo by Kobi Richter/TPS on 24 April, 2019

El Al Authorized to Evacuate Israelis From Amsterdam During the Sabbath

Public By Pesach Benson • 8 November, 2024

Jerusalem, 8 November, 2024 (TPS) -- Israel’s national airline said on Friday it received rabbinic permission to fly during the Sabbath to evacuate Israelis Amsterdam. The evacuation comes after rioters attacked Israelis in the Dutch capital for a soccer match.

“In light of the difficult and unusual events in Amsterdam, all of El Al’s people were mobilized to issue free rescue flights that would operate during Shabbat. We are proud to be an anchor for the Israelis even in difficult times,” ‘El Al CEO Dina Ben Tal Ganancia said.

Video circulating on social media showed rioters carrying Palestinian flags and shouting “Free Palestine” attacked Isaeli soccer fans, who traveled to Amsterdam, where Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax. Ten Israelis were injured and the Foreign Minsistry said three remain unaccounted for.

Around 3,000 Israeli fans flew in for the game.

Israeli nationals were warned to stay in their hotels and be prepared to leave the country on short notice.

Police arrested more than 50 suspects, Dutch media reported.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also condemned the attack, tweeting, “Freedom loving countries, democracies, cannot allow unbridled hatred to roam the streets with impunity. As history has shown – what begins with persecution and violence against Jews never ends with the Jews.”

Danny Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial and museum said, “”Tomorrow we will mark the anniversary of the November 1938 ‘Crystal Night’ pogrom and it is very worrying to prove that 86 years have passed but once again we are witnessing an act of severe, initiated and planned violence against Jews taking place without hindrance.”

Editors note: An earlier version of this story said the Israel Defense Forces was preparing to send a medical rescue team to Amsterdam in coordination with Dutch authorities. Shortly after this was published, the military announced that political leaders directed them not to go.