Berlin Jewish youth soccer team attacked by knife-wielding pro-Palestinian mob

Players from TuS Makkabi, a youth under-17 soccer team in Berlin, were reportedly chased and assaulted on Thursday after playing against DJK Schwarz-Weiß Neukölln, according to international media reports. 

The players were reportedly chased by a crowd wielding sticks and knives, according to German news site Tagesspiegel daily.

Players from the opposing team reportedly yelled “Free Palestine” at the Jewish team, one of the player’s fathers told the media. The children were also allegedly spat at repeatedly, and the father claimed the referee failed to intervene. 

Schwarz-Weiss Neukölln promised to throw out the youth involved in the incident, according to The Telegraph. The “incidents like this don’t belong on soccer pitches – and certainly not on ours,” a spokesperson said.

Alon Meyer, the president of Makkabi Germany, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper witnesses confirmed “threats, including chasing people with knives, undoubtedly took place.”

Berlin Interior Senator Iris Spranger condemned the attacks, according to the German press agency  DPA International.

"Just recently, there were attacks on players from the sports club TuS Makkabi Berlin. These acts show that antisemitic violence and discrimination have not disappeared in our city either," Spranger said on Saturday.

The Staatsschutz hate crime police unit is reportedly investigating the incident.

Antisemitism in soccer

The club members have reportedly faced similar abuse over the last month, the Telegraph reported. A fan of the team, wearing a scarf representing the team, was in a cafe when he was reportedly punched in the face after being asked if he was Jewish. 

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were attacked in Amsterdam following the Israeli soccer team’s match against Ajax. Emergency flights were commissioned to return Israelis home following the assaults. 

In response to the violence, Dutch authorities banned demonstrations for three days. However, the violence recommenced on Monday night when pro-Palestinian rioters launched fireworks at trams in Amsterdam.