The Maccabi Ban and the Slippery Road to Capitulation

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The Maccabi Ban: Echoes of Amsterdam and the Road to Capitulation I’ve been following the saga around Maccabi Tel Aviv’s fans with growing alarm, not just because it reeks of institutional cowardice but because it points to a deeper rot in how Western societies handle threats to their Jewish communities.

The latest revelations from the UK, stemming from a police report that’s finally seeing the light of day, paint a picture that’s as disturbing as it is predictable. It’s a story that starts with violence in Amsterdam, spirals through media distortions and political posturing, and lands us in Birmingham, where authorities chose to punish the victims rather than confront the aggressors. If this becomes the new playbook, we’re on a path where safety for Jews means invisibility, and that’s a slope we can’t afford to slide down.

Let’s rewind to November 2024, when Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in Amsterdam. What should have been a routine Europa League match turned into a nightmare for the Israeli fans. Reports detail how, after the game, groups targeted them in coordinated attacks across the city. Dutch authorities described it as a “Jew hunt,” with assailants using scooters and taxis to chase down victims, assaulting them, and forcing some to chant pro-Palestinian slogans. Five Israelis ended up in the hospital, and the violence was condemned internationally as antisemitic. Yet, almost immediately, a counternarrative emerged, painting the Maccabi supporters as the instigators. Videos surfaced showing some fans clashing with locals earlier, but investigations later clarified that the post-match assaults were premeditated and disproportionate. Dutch courts even sentenced five men involved in the attacks to up to six months in prison, underscoring the one-sided nature of the pogrom (BBC News, December 2024; The Guardian, December 2024).

This is where the mainstream media’s deceit kicks in, and it’s a pattern we’ve seen before. Outlets like CNN and others initially framed the events as a “toxic mix” of antisemitism and racism, but many downplayed the targeted nature of the attacks on Israelis while amplifying isolated incidents of Maccabi fans’ behavior. Some international reports skewed the story entirely, accusing the fans of widespread rioting when evidence, including missing CCTV footage that prosecutors later dropped cases over, told a different tale. French media and others were called out for one-sided coverage that overlooked anti-Arab elements but exaggerated claims against the Israelis. It’s the kind of selective reporting that inverts victim and perpetrator, fueling the very hatred it pretends to analyze. In Amsterdam, the media’s rush to “both-sides” a clear pogrom set a dangerous precedent, one that echoed in the UK’s handling of Maccabi’s next big away game.

Fast forward to November 2025, and Maccabi is set to face Aston Villa in Birmingham. West Midlands Police, citing “security concerns,” banned away fans from attending. At first, this was spun as a precaution against potential hooliganism from the Israelis, referencing the Amsterdam chaos. But a peer review report, leaked and dissected in outlets like The Times and The Guardian, reveals the truth: the police’s initial worry wasn’t about Maccabi at all. High-confidence intelligence from September 5, 2025, flagged “elements of the community in the West Midlands wanting to ‘arm’ themselves” in response to the visitors. The expert commentary noted this hostility stemmed from “non-football issues” between the away fans and locals, not typical rival fan clashes. In other words, the ban wasn’t to protect the public from rowdy Israelis; it was to shield the Israelis from armed extremists in the area. Yet, police brass like Chief Constable Craig Guildford flipped the script, hiding this detail from parliamentary inquiries until pressed. As one MP put it, this was a capitulation to threats, not enforcement of law. Recent developments in January 2026, including minutes from safety advisory meetings and freedom of information releases, show Jewish community groups warned police that the ban “could be perceived as antisemitic,” yet the decision stood amid accusations of one-sided intelligence and even fabricated details from old searches (Sky News, January 2026; The Guardian, January 2026; Express & Star, January 2026).

Enter Keir Starmer, whose response feels like empty theater. The UK Prime Minister called the ban “wrong” and vowed no tolerance for antisemitism, emphasizing that police should ensure all fans can attend safely. Noble words, but where’s the action? His government pushed for talks to lift the ban, yet the decision stood, and the underlying intelligence about armed locals went unaddressed in arrests or investigations. It’s the sort of performative concern that rings hollow when Jews are effectively told to stay home for their own good. If Starmer’s outrage doesn’t translate to holding police accountable or rooting out the threats, it’s just more political noise in a country already grappling with rising antisemitism (The Guardian, January 2026; BBC News, January 2026).

This isn’t isolated; it’s the threat of a new norm where authorities preempt violence by restricting the targets rather than the perpetrators. Amsterdam showed us how a pogrom gets relabeled as mutual scuffles; Birmingham illustrates how that distortion justifies surrender. If police can ban a group based on threats against them, what’s next? Synagogues closing on high holidays because of “intelligence” about protests? Jewish events canceled to avoid “clashes”? It’s a slippery slope toward normalizing isolation as protection, echoing historical precedents where Jews were blamed for the hatred directed at them. And let’s not forget the broader context: Dutch police shared info with UK counterparts about Maccabi fans’ links to the IDF, further muddying the waters with geopolitical smears.

This echoes the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where the Nazi regime systematically excluded Jewish athletes from German sports clubs and national teams under the “Aryans only” policy starting in 1933. Top talents like high jumper Gretel Bergmann were expelled from clubs, removed from squads, and ultimately denied spots despite world-class performances—she tied the German record of 1.60 meters just weeks before the Games, only to be told her form wasn’t good enough and excluded for alleged “poor performance.” Fencer Helene Mayer, classified as “non-Aryan” due to her Jewish father, was the lone token inclusion, a cynical concession to international pressure and boycott threats from the US, UK, and others. She won silver and gave the Nazi salute on the podium, a moment of propaganda that masked widespread persecution.

The International Olympic Committee, led by figures like Avery Brundage of the US Olympic Committee, accepted Nazi assurances of fair treatment after inspections, downplayed discrimination reports, and pushed ahead despite clear evidence of exclusion. Boycott efforts in multiple countries gained momentum but ultimately collapsed, with most nations sending teams. This participation lent legitimacy to the regime at a pivotal time, helping cultivate an atmosphere of appeasement as Hitler geared up for greater aggression. (Sources: US Holocaust Memorial Museum on the Nazi Olympics; Wikipedia entries on the 1936 Games, Helene Mayer, and Gretel Bergmann, drawing from historical records.)

The parallel here is stark: just as authorities in 1936 bent to threats and optics by sidelining most Jewish athletes rather than enforcing equal access, the Birmingham decision restricts Israeli/Jewish fans from a match due to threats against them, instead of decisively countering those threats. It’s not full expulsion from the sport, but it creates a conditional presence, stay away for “safety”, mirroring how Jewish competitors were isolated to avoid “disorder.” Performative outrage from leaders without real follow-through feels eerily similar to the empty assurances of tolerance back then. In the 1930s, it emboldened the Nazis; today, it risks entrenching a norm where Jewish or Israeli visibility in public spaces, even a football stadium, becomes negotiable.

As someone who’s followed Betar for years, cheering their spirited play from afar, I see this through a personal lens. Betar’s history, tied to Zionist roots and unapologetic pride, mirrors Maccabi’s resilience. It’s lighthearted fandom for me, a way to connect with Israeli spirit amid global games, but incidents like these remind us it’s never just about the scoreline. When fans of Israeli teams become proxies for broader animosities, it hits close to home.

We need to demand better: transparent investigations into the threats, media accountability for inverted narratives, and leaders who back words with deeds. Otherwise, this becomes the blueprint for how societies fold under pressure, and that’s a game no one wins.

Sources…

Amsterdam Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Ajax Attacks (November 2024)

Maccabi Tel Aviv Fan Ban at Aston Villa (Birmingham, November 2025) and Police Report Controversies (2025–2026)

Keir Starmer’s Response to the Ban

1936 Berlin Olympics and Jewish Athletes Exclusion (Historical Parallel)

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