A fierce debate has erupted in Israel after several prominent journalists suggested Maccabi Tel Aviv fans partly brought Thursday's violent attacks on themselves by "provoking" local Muslims.
"Just five light injuries. Maybe we're overreacting?" wrote left-wing activist Yariv Oppenheimer, questioning President Herzog's comparison to October 7th. Channel 12's Keren Betzalel went further, noting Dutch reports of fans chanting anti-Arab slogans and removing Palestinian flags.
The victim-blaming hasn't gone over well.
"Oh right, thousands of Muslims spontaneously organized hunting parties across Amsterdam because some Jews sang mean songs," Amir Cooper wrote in a viral post dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sure all those Moroccan gangs just happened to speak Hebrew and coordinate their attacks by pure coincidence."
The justifications hit a particularly raw nerve in Israel's current climate. "Next they'll tell us Anne Frank was just an annoying girl," one user commented, capturing the widespread disgust at attempts to rationalize antisemitic violence.
There is a growing divide in how antisemitic attacks are covered - some insisting on "context," others seeing dangerous echoes of historic Jewish persecution in every attempt to justify mob violence.
