( Oct. 16, 2026/ JNS)
Fans of Croatian soccer club Hajduk Split shouted about eliminating Jews at a rally on Thursday ahead of a match versus Dutch side Ajax, whose fans have actually traditionally accepted a Jewish identity.
The chants referenced Auschwitz and consisted of calls to “Fire up the ovens,” “Rise up Adolf,” and mottos in favor of the Ustaše, a pro-Nazi Croatian motion that took part in the Holocaust throughout World War II, the Index.hr news website reported.
Veleposlanstvo Izraela u Zagrebu duboko je šokirano teškim antisemitskim incidentom koji se jučer dogodio u Splitu i najoštrije ga osuđuje.
Takve incidente moraju nedvosmisleno i odlučno osuditi sva nadležna tijela na svim razinama.
Duboko smo zahvalni @VladaRH i posebnoj …
— Israel in Croatia (@IsraelinCroatia) October 16, 2026
The Croatian federal government, on its primary account on X, published a declaration condemning the fans in Split.
“We highly condemn the inappropriate chants glorifying the Nazi routine that were tape-recorded amongst a part of fans in the stands before today’s match in Split. The authorities are carrying out a criminal examination to determine and prosecute those who screamed punishable chants in the stands. Such outrageous habits makes up a negation of the sport and the democratic worths that contemporary Croatia cherishes.”
The Embassy of Israel in Zagreb thanked the federal government for its position and stated on X that it was “deeply stunned by the extreme antisemitic occurrence that happened” in Split and “condemns it in the greatest possible terms. Such events need to be unquestionably and decisively condemned by all proficient authorities at all levels.”
Snažno osuđujemo nedopustive povike slavljenja nacističkog režima koji su zabilježeni tijekom kortea dijela navijača prije današnje utakmice u Splitu. Policija provodi kriminalističko istraživanje kako bi utvrdila i procesuirala one koji su uzvikivali kažnjive povike u korteu …– Vlada Republike Hrvatske (@VladaRH) October 15, 2026
Antisemitism around AFC Ajax matches is a well-documented phenomenon in Europe. Numerous non-Jewish fans call themselves “Jews” and show Israeli flags, while competing fans utilize antisemitic chants to insult them.
Some insist their hostility issues soccer instead of real Jews. A few of the language around Ajax, nevertheless, clearly targets Jews and Israel: Supporters of the Arhem-based Dutch SBV Vitesse club shouted “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas” before a match versus Ajax in April 2021.
The rhetoric spreads out beyond soccer, impacting Jews. In May 2019, a Jewish male reported that fans of the Feyenoord group in Rotterdam attacked him after he asked to stop singing about burning Jews throughout Liberation Day events in The Hague.
In October 2020, Fox Sports in the Netherlands included taped chants of a popular soccer chant, “Whoever does not leap is a Jew,” to its broadcast of an Ajax–Groningen match played in an empty arena. The broadcaster consequently said sorry.
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Canaan Lidor is a skilled reporter and worldwide reporter for JNS, covering Europe, Australia and international Jewish affairs.
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