The Netherlands’ intelligence agencies have accused Israel of seeking to influence Dutch politics and public opinion in the wake of last year’s pogrom that wounded 25 Jewish tourists in Amsterdam.
The Threat Assessment of State Actors 2025 report, which was published this month by the European country’s three main intelligence agencies, lists the Jewish state alongside Russia, Turkey and Iran as countries that have sought to “to shape public opinion and political decision-making.”
“Israel tries to influence political and public opinion abroad, including in the Netherlands,” the report stated, adding: “This was illustrated by the distribution of a report from the Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism following disturbances surrounding the soccer match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in November 2024.”
The report “was not shared with the Dutch government through official channels, but was instead deliberately sent to specific politicians and journalists,” according to the report.
It noted that the Dutch ministers of justice and security and of foreign affairs described the distribution method as “unusual and undesirable due to the potential negative consequences for Dutch citizens.”
“Individuals mentioned in the report could be intimidated or threatened, or, in the most serious case, attacked,” it stated.
Amichai Chikli, the Israeli minister for diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism, stated in a response to JNS on Tuesday morning that “if the truth makes someone uncomfortable, that’s their problem.”
On Nov. 7-8, 2024, hundreds of Dutch Muslims participated in a series of assaults on Israelis visiting the country’s capital for a soccer match. In coordinating the attacks on messaging platforms, several perpetrators referred to the action as a “Jew hunt” and used antisemitic rhetoric.
Europe’s largest coordinated pogrom against Jews since the Holocaust, the incident shocked the Dutch Jewish community and Israeli officials.
Following the Amsterdam pogrom, the Israeli government’s National Center for Combating Antisemitism, which is led by Chikli, revealed ties between the Dutch attackers and Hamas, including specific individuals allegedly serving as intermediaries with the Gaza terrorist organization.
Additional groups and individuals involved in the assault were said to be linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terror organization that has significant support and a presence in Europe.
Two weeks after the pogrom, the Netherlands’ House of Representatives passed a motion urging the government to probe the groups mentioned in the Israeli research report and designate them for their ties to Hamas.
The Hague has refused to order its intelligence agencies to carry out the inquiry, and this month’s report on state-sponsored threats said Israel’s actions in the wake of the pogrom infringe on “constitutional freedoms of Dutch citizens and thereby undermine social and political stability.”
Threat Assessment of State Actors 2025 also denounced what it said were “public threats” by Jerusalem and the United States against the International Criminal Court, which is based in The Hague.
Threats and sanctions against the ICC “can undermine the continuity and independence of international legal institutions—therefore, they pose a direct threat to the international legal order,” the agencies said.
“When the Netherlands provides information to such institutions and this ends up in the hands of state actors through covert means, it also affects national security,” according to the annual intelligence report.
The report also highlighted the increasing physical threat posed by Iran and its local operatives across Europe, including assassination threats facing Jews and Israelis, as well as opponents to the Islamic Republic.
“Iran has a long history of carrying out attacks on dissidents abroad,” read the report, noting that intelligence indicates it was behind a June 2024 attempt on the life of an Iranian dissident living in the country.
“Criminals from Amsterdam previously murdered an Iranian-Dutch citizen in Almere in 2015, and criminals were possibly involved in the 2017 assassination of another Iranian-Dutch citizen,” said the agencies.
“Similar incidents likely occurred in Belgium, Germany, France, the U.K. and Sweden. In addition, Iran sometimes deploys extremist groups such as Hezbollah or individuals to carry out attacks, often using Shi’ites with a nationality other than Iranian or Lebanese,” the report added.
Traditionally a strong ally of Israel, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp in recent months led criticism of the Jewish state in the European Union while maintaining ties with the Iranian regime.
In November, Veldkamp welcomed his Iranian counterpart in The Hague, just days after his government said it would break off all “non-essential” contacts with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
