Jewish leaders fear an outbreak of antisemitism on Saturday, May 4, when the Netherlands will observe two minutes of silence for those who died in World War Two, including over 100,000 Dutch Jewish people and more recent armed conflicts.
Squatters have spent several days in former prostitution rooms during a protest action to draw attention to the relocation of sex workers in the Red Light District in Amsterdam. The reason for the action is the construction of a planned erotic center in the south of Amsterdam, which would displace the sex workers. The protest action is held in solidarity with the sex workers, according to the initiators.
Amsterdam's famous red light district is set to move from the old town to an erotic center on the outskirts of the city. The high-rise building will provide jobs for around 100 prostitutes as well as restaurants, sex theatres and clubs. Residents and the EU medicines agency Ema, which is located there, have already protested. Tens of thousands of people have signed petitions calling for the Red Light District to remain in the city centre. In return for the 100 places for sex workers planned in the center, a similar number of jobs are to be eliminated.
The police arrested 12 Olympique Marseille football supporters in the city center of Amsterdam on Thursday afternoon prior to the team's Europa League match against Ajax. Six were arrested for carrying a stabbing or striking weapon. The other six were taken into custody for loitering or gathering in a group in a manner which violates the General Local Ordinance (APV), , a police spokesperson confirmed after the local broadcaster AT5 first reported on the situation.