SUMMARY

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema expresses regret for using the word “pogrom” at the internationally covered press conference the day after the clashes in the city, adding,

“We were completely overtaken by Israel.”

Speaking to the current affairs show Nieuwsuur on Sunday night, Halsema said:

“In hindsight, I should not have used the word ‘pogrom.’.. We were completely overtaken by Israel. At 3 a.m., Prime Minister Netanyahu suddenly gave a lecture about what had happened in Amsterdam, while we were still gathering the facts.”

“The Israeli government spoke of a ‘Palestinian pogrom on the streets of Amsterdam,’ and in The Hague, the words were used to discriminate against Moroccan Amsterdammers, Muslims. That is not what I meant or what I wanted.”

She also acknowledged that she should have highlighted the violence caused by Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters before and after the Europe League game in Amsterdam.