France play Israel this evening in an international football match in Paris. The venue is the Stade de France although the French sports daily, L’Equipe, has said that the stadium has been transformed into ‘a bunker’. And so it should. These are dangerous times for Jews in Europe.
Last week dozens of Israeli football fans were attacked in a series of co-ordinated ambushes in Amsterdam by what the Dutch authorities described as ‘antisemitic hit-and-run squads’. Many of the assailants referenced the conflict in Palestine as they kicked and punched their victims. The King of Holland Willem-Alexander deplored the scenes and said that ‘our history has taught us how intimidation goes from bad to worse’.
Israel has advised its fans not to travel to the match, and many French supporters have been put off by the prospect of disorder
There was less sympathy from some left-wing politicians in France. One MP from La France Insoumise, Marie Mesmeur, said the
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