“It is said that people are hunting for Jews,” Halsema said on the social media platform Telegram. “This is so shocking and so despicable that I still can’t understand it.” Dutch Minister of Justice and Security David van Weel promised that the perpetrators would be found and prosecuted.

Police had to escort some fans to hotels, according to officials.

Ofek Ziv, a Maccabi fan from Petah Tikva, Israel, said that while he and a friend were leaving the stadium, someone threw a stone at his head, causing light bleeding. He said that before he and his friend got into a taxi, a group of men started chasing him, and he took other fans and took shelter in a hotel.

“I’m so scared, it’s so striking,” Ziv said. “And the police didn’t come to help us.”

Another Israeli fan, Alyia Cohen, said that she would return to Amsterdam for future matches when she returned to Israel. “We are not afraid of anything, ours is the people of Israel.”

Police said 5 people were treated and released from hospital, while 20 to 30 people suffered minor injuries. At least 62 suspects have been arrested, while 10 are still in custody, the city’s prosecutor, René de Beukelaer, told reporters at a press conference on Friday.

In the statement made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, it was stated that Netanyahu “views the terrible incident with the utmost seriousness.” He demanded that the Dutch government take “strong and swift action” against those involved.

Condemnations of the violence poured in from across Europe. “Antisemitism has absolutely no place in Europe and we are determined to combat it and all forms of hatred,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “We want Jewish life and culture to flourish in Europe.”

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof condemned the violence and returned home early from the European Union summit in Hungary.

The attacks shattered Amsterdam’s long-cherished view that it was a beacon of tolerance and a haven for persecuted religions, including Sephardic Jews from Portugal and Spain who fled to the city centuries ago.

Police said security would be stepped up at Jewish institutions in the city, which has a large Jewish community and was home to Jewish World War II diarist Anne Frank and her family, who hid from Nazi invaders.

Halsema, the mayor of Amsterdam, called the violence “an explosion of antisemitism that we hope never to see again in Amsterdam.”

In the past, Ajax was known as a football club with links to the Jewish community in Amsterdam, as visiting fans had to pass through the city’s Jewish quarter to get to the club’s old stadium. Ajax fans sometimes wave Star of David flags and chant the Dutch word for Jews.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar flew to Amsterdam on Friday and said in a message on channel X that hatred of Jews was “emerging here and there”.

Saar met with the Dutch security and justice minister, pledging to help Israel with the investigation, and also met with far-right, anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, whose party won national elections last year.

Amsterdam police spokeswoman Sara Tillart said it was too early to say whether anyone other than football fans were targeted in the investigation. Authorities banned demonstrations across the city over the weekend and gave police extra powers to search people.

The Israeli government initially ordered two planes to be sent to Amsterdam to bring fans home, but Netanyahu’s office later said it would help citizens arrange commercial flights.

Maccabi’s CEO, Ben Mansford, spoke to reporters at Israel’s international airport after some fans returned. “A lot of people went to watch a football game to support Israel, to support the Star of David,” he said. They were attacked, saying “this is a very sad time for all of us, given the past year.”

There was tension in Amsterdam for days before the match. A Palestinian flag was taken down from a building in Amsterdam on Wednesday and authorities banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations near the stadium, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported.

Before the match, a large crowd of Israeli team fans were seen chanting anti-Arab slogans as they walked to the stadium under police escort.

Fans shook their fists and chanted “May the IDF win and the Arabs (expletive),” using the Israeli army’s acronym. Police were also seen removing several pro-Palestinian protesters from a Maccabi fan meeting held in the square earlier in the day.