Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had arrived in the city for a Europa League match against Ajax and footage was widely shared the night before of a group of fans climbing a wall to tear down and burn a Palestinian flag .

A report from the Amsterdam council said taxis were also attacked and vandalised.

Emine Uğur, a well-known columnist in the Muslim community, says the tensions underlying the war in Gaza meant that the violence that followed “will come a long way”.

She speaks of a lack of recognition of the pain felt by conflict-affected communities that has left many without an outlet for their pain and frustration.

The flag burning incident as well as the anti-Arab chants were seen as a deliberate provocation.

But then messages appeared on social media calling for retaliation, some using chilling terms such as “Jew-hunting”.

On the evening of the match, a pro-Palestinian protest was removed from the Johan Cruyff arena, but violence broke out in the following hours.

The 12-page report by Amsterdam authorities describes some Maccabi supporters “committing acts of vandalism” in the center.

It then highlights “small riot groups … engaged in violent hit-and-run actions targeting Israeli supporters and the nightlife crowd” in downtown locations. They moved “on foot, by scooter or by car … committing serious attacks.”

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema described the incidents as deeply alarming and noted that for some they are a reminder of historical pogroms against Jews.

For several hours, parts of the Jewish community in a European capital felt as if they were under siege.

These events coincided with the anniversary of the 1938 Nazi pogroms against the Jews, also known as Kristallnacht.

This only heightened the fears of Amsterdam’s Jewish community, although local imams and other members of the Muslim community took part in the commemorations.

Senior members, including Esther Voet, editor of the Dutch Jewish Weekly, organized emergency shelters and coordinated rescue efforts for those fearing for their lives.