Israeli soccer fans in the Netherlands were brutally attacked this week by anti-Israel rioters. Jews are being drug through the streets of a major European city, after getting verbally abused all week after leaving the stadium. But late Thursday, those verbal attacks turned violent. A pogrom targeting Jews is taking place in what we consider the free world.

Amsterdam is a city of freedom; you can have anything you want there, legal or not. People travel the world over for its wares. That's apparently untrue if you're a Jew traveling the free world. Israel's Foreign Ministry says that ten were hurt, with two others unreachable.

Fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer club traveled to Amsterdam for a tournament. They got hectored by anti-Israel and antisemitic bigots throughout the week, but on Thursday night, it turned violent. Videos showed attackers yelling "Free Palestine" and dragging Jews through the streets while beating them. It was nothing more than a lynch mob targeting Jews.

In response, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is preparing a rescue mission to Amsterdam to save those attacked. Those filming some scenes show little to no police presence and no one helping. The IDF is sending cargo plans with medical and rescue teams to answer the threat.

As many Jewish observers in the West noted, Jews have to protect and rescue themselves everywhere because no one else is coming. The last group that still understands "Never Again" is the Jewish state itself. Europe is lapsing into old bigotries and evils as Jewish hatred takes over the land.

We are not immune to it here in the United States. We're not far removed from college campus agitators who treated Jews in the United States the same way. These radicals only want one thing, and that's the eradication of Jews. They hide behind empty slogans like "Free Palestine" while attacking Jews the first shot they get.

In one of its final acts, the Biden administration revealed its true colors, too. On Election Day, the Biden-Harris administration quietly waived sanctions against the Palestinian government. This is the same administration that determined that "the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) are not complying with agreements to curb terrorism against Israel and end the "pay-to-slay" program, which rewards imprisoned terrorists for committing acts of violence."

One day, the Biden-Harris administration is waiving sanctions against terrorist-supporting Palestinian organizations, and a few days later, we have Jews being drug through the streets of Amsterdam. That's not to say these two events are directly connected, but the overall gist of it is. It doesn't matter to the Biden-Harris administration that they're aiding a terrorist-aligned group.

And if it doesn't matter to American leadership, why are we expecting more out of the Netherlands and Europe, whose issues with Jews date back much longer?

Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, said, "We are seeing a pogrom against Jews and Israelis unfold in Amsterdam. In 2024. This must stop. 'Globalize the intifada' was not just a slogan for these terrorist supporters. I urge the Dutch government to help all Israelis and Jewish people immediately. It's time to respond with force against these barbaric rioters."

In a dark irony, the attacks came after the Netherlands commemorated the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht when the Nazi-Germany began seriously targeting Jews in the streets. 

All of these events crystalize why the Israeli state must exist. That's an uncomfortable reality for the Iran boosters in the Obama-Biden axis of foreign policy, but no one else is coming to the rescue for the Jewish people. When Israel is running IDF rescue missions to European countries, we've taken multiple steps backward in the wrong direction.

Israel is the last, and increasingly, only defense for Jews anywhere in the world. America retains its friendly relations with both Israel and the Jewish people. But increasingly, the Democratic Party holds abhorrent views on the defense of Jews anywhere. Kamala Harris vacillated so much on the topic that it likely was part of the reason she lost.

We need strong leadership on this topic and regarding the world. Israel must be able to respond to the attempts to eradicate it from Hamas, Iran, and others. And we must help Israel in its push to help Jews abroad when all they are doing is enjoying soccer tournaments, no different than any other person. Never again must have teeth and force behind it. 

Am Yisrael Chai stands for "The People of Israel live." We must ensure that the phrase remains true in a literal sense. These attacks in the Netherlands must not stand.