David, a 23-year-old Israeli IDF soldier, recently attended the 2024 Euro games in Berlin, Germany, with his friends. What he expected to be an exciting sports event turned into a troubling encounter with widespread antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment.

David reported in an interview with Israel Hayom that signs of anti-Israel attitudes were evident from the moment he arrived. "First of all, the moment you get there, you see graffiti on the walls of 'Free Palestine.' Somebody went around with an ink stamp and stamped 'Free Palestine' everywhere," he said. He was surprised by how prevalent the topic was, noting, "Even the taxi driver from the airport mentioned the Palestinian situation. It's a very common topic all around. You wouldn't imagine that they care so much, but it's one of the mainstream topics people talk about in Europe."

The young soldier observed a stark contrast in how Jewish and Israeli establishments present themselves in Berlin. "Any shul, any Israeli embassy, is guarded like crazy with no Jewish symbols outside," David explained. He added that kosher restaurants in the city also avoid displaying any Israeli imagery, describing the situation as "very censored." When asked if anyone wore an Israeli flag out, David responded, "No, nobody. Nothing Israeli."

David's personal interactions were also affected by his nationality. "When I said, 'I'm from Israel.' Suddenly, their faces change, and the conversation ends a sentence later," he recounted. This led him and his friend to create false identities to avoid negative reactions. "I switched from saying that I was from Israel to saying that I was from Canada," David admitted.

The situation became so tense that they resorted to elaborate measures to conceal their identities. "We had to create an alibi for my friend, who can't speak English. Initially, we said he was from Portugal or Spain because he has a Spanish look. But then we stumbled across people who knew Spanish. When they started speaking to him in Spanish, he just mumbled. After that, we created a perfect alibi. I told him, 'From now on, you say you're from Fiji because nobody knows how people from Fiji look or what language they speak.'"

"People heard our Hebrew conversations and were suspecting something. They asked what language we were talking to each other, and we said it was a combination of Portuguese and Maldivian. We just made up random things. We were speaking Hebrew to each other once, and a group questioned us, 'Is that Hebrew?' We were afraid, and then they were like, 'It's okay, we're Jewish,'" David explained.

David also touched on the demographic changes in Berlin, particularly noting the large Muslim population. He described an incident where they accidentally entered a predominantly Muslim neighborhood, which "every Israeli we met had collectively told us, 'Just don't go to Neukölln – it's very dangerous.' We felt like we were in Ramallah or Jenin – mosques and hijab stores, and everybody was clearly Muslim on the street, people with the Palestinian kaffiyah. We were like, 'Oh sh*t, this is Neukölln.' So, we stopped talking in Hebrew and started talking in English."

Reflecting on his overall experience, David expressed dismay at the pervasive negative attitudes towards Israel. "You really feel like everybody's opinion is negative. Nobody has a positive opinion about Israel," he stated. "You hear it's bad in Europe. But you never actually understand how bad it is, how one-sided the conversation is, and how they really have zero clue about what's actually happening. It's a very bad feeling."

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The streets of Berlin are awash with orange as jubilant Dutch soccer fans celebrate their national team's advancement to the Euro 2024 semi-finals. Following a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Turkey, the Netherlands now faces England in a highly anticipated match. Amid the festivities, supporters remain confident of their chances against the Three Lions and beyond, while also expressing warm sentiments towards Israel.

The Euro 2024 quarter-finals concluded Saturday, with an exciting match between the Netherlands and Turkey in Berlin, where the Orange won 2-1 and advanced to the semi-finals. In the next stage, on Wednesday in Dortmund, England awaits them, having earlier eliminated the Swiss.

The great excitement among the orange-clad crowd after the game was because they returned to the final four for the first time in 20 years, but also because the last time they met the Three Lions in a major tournament was in the group stage of Euro 1996. Then they suffered from doubles by Teddy Sheringham and Alan Shearer, with Patrick Kluivert only reducing the score to 4-1 in the tournament hosted by the British. Now the Dutch believe they can make amends.

Berlin is Oranje. 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧! #NothingLikeOranje #CreateHistory #NEDTUR pic.twitter.com/QqENlmXkDX

— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) July 6, 2024

 Yesterday's game brought together two of the three best fan bases in the tournament, with the Scottish crowd also providing impressive scenes in the group stage. The Dutch love Israel, at least based on those I met. In the square where the fans of the beloved team gathered, I met Joop, a 22-year-old who works for ESPN Netherlands. He told me he's currently less known, working behind the scenes as a social media person, and hopes to be more recognized one day. When I told him I was from Israel, he gave me a wide smile and said he hopes Israel will one day qualify for a major tournament.

When I returned to the hotel hungry, I sat at the bar and ordered a cheese platter. It was the only thing left at 1 a.m. Next to me sat three Dutch guys, all from Eindhoven. Patrick, who sat beside me, showed me a video of the Dutch crowd dancing to the famous song that went viral throughout the competition days, where everyone moved from right to left. I responded with a video I filmed from the press box at the end of the game, where Ronald Koeman's group celebrated with the crowd. He asked me to send him these magical moments.

When his friend Alexander heard I was from Israel, he looked at me and said "Kill them all," making it clear which side he had chosen since October 7. I asked if he had been to Tel Aviv, "at least 20 times," he replied and said he has friends in Israel, how he remembers Eran Zahavi who played for PSV for two years, and that he does business in the Holy Land.

Alexander had been to all of the Netherlands' games so far, except for the loss to Austria, and he has a ticket for Wednesday at Signal Iduna Park. I told him a tough game awaits in four days and he replied: "England is not our problem, we will beat them." It might be the beers, maybe mind-altering substances, but the Dutch have optimism in abundance right now.

At the Dutch press conference, both coach Koeman and outstanding player Stefan de Vrij gave a lot of respect to England, but said they believe they can return once again to Berlin next Sunday, for the final.

Quite ironically, the question that drew the most attention was from an English reporter who asked the defender, who scored a goal, if he and his teammates were also addicted to the fans' big hit. De Vrij answered affirmatively: "We constantly see videos of our fans celebrating in Germany, it's a big hit in our country right now, it's great to see what soccer does to people, hopefully, we'll make them celebrate with it later on as well."

And what about the Turks? Usually, when politicians come to a soccer game they don't really do good for the team they came to support, and so it turned out that in the game attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his team said goodbye to the tournament. They did take the lead, and looked good for quite a few minutes, and one can, in a non-political view, applaud them for the performances they provided in the last three weeks, but in the second half, Turkey failed to withstand the pressure from the Dutch and ended the evening in tears.

Next to me sat a young journalist from the Turkish media. She saw on my computer that I was from Israel and asked to verify. The guy wore a Turkey shirt with four signatures, including that of the current captain Hakan Calhanoglu. In the end, he gave me a Turkey scarf as a gift, but didn't agree to be photographed with me. Still, quite a few Turks live in fear despite their opinions being less conservative, especially when the all-powerful leader is in the stadium in Berlin.

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In a shocking turn of events at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, Switzerland delivered a decisive 2-0 blow to Italy, eliminating the defending European champions from Euro 2024. The result on Saturday evening not only secured Switzerland's second consecutive quarter-final appearance but also highlighted Italy's struggle to maintain its footballing dominance.

Berlin's Olympic Stadium holds one cherished memory for Italian football – the 2006 World Cup final victory over France on penalties. Now, the Azzurri will also associate the German capital with a bitter disappointment. The reigning European champions' title defense came to an abrupt end on Saturday night, falling 2-0 to Switzerland in the Euro 2024 round of 16. The result proved that sometimes, tradition alone isn't enough to secure victory.

Italy has long been considered one of football's powerhouses, but their 2024 squad pales in comparison to past iterations. Signs of struggle were evident throughout the group stage: a narrow win over Albania, a 1-0 loss to Spain that could have been much worse, and a last-gasp equalizer against Croatia to avoid early elimination. Against a confident Swiss team, Italy's weaknesses were fully exposed.

Switzerland even nearly defeated Germany. After knocking out France at the same stage in the previous European Championship, the Swiss have now reached consecutive Euro quarter-finals. They did so in style, orchestrated by Ruben Vargas, who assisted Remo Freuler's 37th-minute opener before scoring himself in the 46th minute.

Ironically, three of Switzerland's key players – including Freuler and Michel Aebischer, who assisted the second goal – play for Bologna, this season's surprise package in Italy's Serie A. With foreign players increasingly dominating top Italian clubs, it's perhaps unsurprising that the national team is struggling to keep pace.

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Euro 2024 regulations stipulate that flags of non-participating countries and political propaganda are prohibited in stadiums. However, it quickly became apparent that organizers are turning a blind eye and not strictly enforcing these rules.

Turkish supporters initially exploited this leniency by waving scarves featuring the Palestinian flag. Upon realizing there was no intervention, they began hanging Palestinian flags in the stands without hindrance.

Turkish supporters initially exploited this leniency by waving scarves featuring the Palestinian flag. Upon realizing there was no intervention, they began hanging Palestinian flags in the stands without hindrance.

Israel is not participating in Euro 2024, which may explain its lack of protest against these displays. Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian advocacy continues to operate and capture the hearts and minds of various national team supporters who have traveled to Germany.

Football fans in Germany distribute watermelons in a show of solidarity with Gaza ahead of the 2024 EURO games. pic.twitter.com/rWpSUn9xNf

— V PALESTINE (@V_Palestine20) June 24, 2024

In recent days, anti-Israel activists, seemingly of Turkish origin, have found a new way to promote their agenda. The trend began in Stuttgart, where, en route to matches, many fans received free white hats printed with watermelon designs from these activists.

"This is our way to increase solidarity with the Palestinian people," the activists said, explaining that the colors of the watermelon match those of the Palestinian flag.

Scottish, German, Ukrainian, French, and many other fans are accepting and proudly wearing these hats without questioning their significance. In doing so, they unknowingly become vehicles for pro-Palestinian propaganda that spreads across social media, disseminating an anti-Israel message.

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