Dutch soccer fans chant ‘Jews burn best’ on Holocaust memorial day

Dutch police arrested five soccer supporters this week allegedly for singing at a match an increasingly popular chant about burning Jews.

The incident, which reflects both growing resolve to punish chanters and the proliferation of antisemitic sports chants, took place near the De Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27.

“My father was in the commandos, my mother was in the SS, together they burned Jews cause Jews burn the best,” the suspects chanted, according to the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, a Dutch watchdog on antisemitism. It called the chant a “recurring problem” in a statement.

The suspects, who were fined $570 each, allegedly were cheering for the Feyenoord team of Rotterdam, who won a match over Amsterdam’s Ajax.

Ajax is one of several European soccer teams that are seen as historically Jewish. Fans from rival teams often taunt supporters and players of the supposedly Jewish teams with antisemitic limericks and symbols; the song about burning Jews is seen as among the most offensive of the taunts.

Chelsea presents campaign against antisemitism to UN Ambassadors

Also, Chelsea celebrated its first anniversary of the global campaign against antisemitism with UN Ambassadors from around the world. The delegation of 40 UN ambassadors, led by Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, have been visiting Israel for the past week.

At the beginning of 2018, with personal support from Chelsea’s owner, Jewish businessman and philanthropist Roman Abramovich, the club embarked on an international campaign – ‘Say No To Antisemitism.’

Later this year, Chelsea will play a friendly match against the US team New England Revolution as part of the campaign. The match will take place in the US, with club owners Abramovich and Robert Kraft each contributing $1 million to the campaign.