Israel has urged fans to avoid Thursday’s France-Israel football clash, with officials fearing the match involving the Israeli team could spark violence in Amsterdam.
Despite a high police presence and the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron, Israeli officials on Sunday warned fans to stay away over fears they could be targeted.
Yet a right-wing Jewish group has announced a rally ahead of the Nations League tie.
The Paris match will come a week after the clashes, following a game between Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch team Ajax.
Israeli, American, Dutch and European leaders condemned the violence as “anti-Semitic”. About two dozen people were injured, while police said they had made more than 60 arrests.
Describing the France-Israel match as high risk, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said 4,000 gendarmes would be deployed around the Stade de France, on public transport and in the French capital.
Nunez told BFMTV that such a large deployment was “extremely unusual” for an international match, while adding that an elite unit of the National Police Force would be tasked with protecting Israel’s footballers.
“We will not tolerate any disturbance or disturbance to public order,” he said.
‘Intolerable anti-Semitism’
In Jerusalem, the National Security Council on Sunday urged Israeli fans to “refrain from attending sporting events/cultural events involving Israelis”, emphasizing the Israeli national team’s upcoming match in Paris.
Organizations seeking to attack Israel were identified in several European cities, including Paris, which warned its citizens not to display recognizable Israeli or Jewish signs.
The match comes amid rising anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim abuse since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Macron’s office said on Sunday that the French president would attend the upcoming clash “to send a message of brotherhood and solidarity following the intolerable acts of anti-Semitism following the match in Amsterdam this week.”
The scenes in Amsterdam last week drew widespread international condemnation, with US President Joe Biden and European leaders condemning “anti-Semitic” violence against Jews.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry reported “anti-Arab slogans”.
Following rising tensions before a Europa League game, groups of men on scooters launched “hit-and-run” attacks on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters.
It came after sporadic incidents involving Maccabi supporters – who are accused of shouting and singing anti-Palestinian slogans and songs – and opposition groups of youth.
Amsterdam police said some Maccabi supporters had burned a Palestinian flag at the Dam Central intersection and vandalized a taxi.
Police said the attackers had mobilized through calls on social media to target Jewish people.
Authorities have already arrested 63 people in connection with Thursday’s violence and are expected to detain more people.
planned protest
The right-wing Jewish movement Betar said Sunday it would organize a protest against anti-Semitism before the match.
World Betar, a pro-Israel youth movement, was also planning to host Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at an event in support of Israel organized by far-right figures on Wednesday.
The “Israel Is Forever” event, and especially Smotrich’s planned appearance, were condemned by several associations, unions and French left-wing parties.
But Police Chief Núñez – who had given his approval to hold the ceremony – said Smotrich could not actually attend. “I think in the end he’s not going to be there,” he said.
Betar is active around the world and has ties to the Israeli right.
The group’s CEO, Yigal Brand, said in a statement Sunday that the movement was “outraged by what happened in Amsterdam.
He said, “We are proud Zionists and we have nothing to apologize for.”
Israeli officials warned fans against attending the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball match in the Italian city of Bologna on Friday, which ended without incident.
Following the violence in Amsterdam, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the Mossad spy agency to prepare a plan to prevent unrest at events abroad.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
