The mayor of Venice has condemned an alleged attack on American Orthodox Jews who said they were targeted by a group that shouted “free Palestine” and then proceeded to slap them.
The American couple, who were reportedly wearing traditional Orthodox clothing, were walking through Venice on Sunday night when the incident took place, according to Italian news agency AGI.
Three of the assailants, who were believed to be of North African origin, were apprehended, with two receiving expulsion orders and a third being deported, according to AGI.
“Venice is and must continue to be an open, welcoming, and safe city, where mutual respect forms the foundation of civil coexistence. The aggression suffered by two American citizens of Jewish faith is a serious and unacceptable act, which I condemn with the utmost firmness,” Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in a post on X.
The incident also drew condemnation from the Jewish Community of Venice. The city is home to one of the oldest Jewish ghettos in Europe, and currently has a Jewish population of around 450.
“Reiterating its condemnation of this vile and ignoble act, the Jewish community emphasizes that episodes like these certainly raise questions about Venice’s role as a welcoming city, while a climate of intolerance is emerging that today affects the entire Venetian community,” the statement read.
The incident follows another report of a Jewish couple being attacked in Venice last month.
The man and his pregnant wife were walking near the city center when three men began harassing them, calling the husband a “dirty Jew” and throwing water and spitting on them. One of the assailants later set his dog on the couple, but it bit into a cell phone in the man’s pocket, according to Venice newspaper Il Gazzettino.
The Venice incidents add to a spate of alleged antisemitic attacks across Europe in recent months, many but not all apparently motivated by opposition to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Among the many to generate headlines:
- An Israeli cellist said he was asked to leave a restaurant in Austria after he was overheard speaking Hebrew.
- Dozens of French Jewish summer campers were removed from a plane in Spain for allegedly engaging in “highly disruptive behavior,” which they said involved singing in Hebrew. (Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente referred to the children as “Israeli brats” on X in a post he later deleted.)
- Near Milan in July, a Jewish father traveling with his 6-year-old son was told to “go back to your country, murderers” before being pushed to the floor and repeatedly kicked, according to video of the incident. It was unclear what precipitated the confrontation. “The antisemitic situation is becoming unmanageable,” a local politician said at the time.
- The vehicles of Orthodox Jewish tourists from England were spray-painted with “Free Palestine” graffiti at a rest stop in the Alps.
In some alleged incidents, the circumstances of the conflicts were not clear. Still, the dizzying pace of reports of harassment and attacks has reportedly sparked some Israelis to reconsider their travel plans.
A recent study by the Israel Democracy Institute found that three quarters of Jewish Israelis and nearly two thirds of Arab Israelis who had plans to travel said their plans had been affected by reports of rising antisemitism and attacks on Israelis abroad. The rate was even higher for religiously observant Jews — those more likely to wear a kippah or otherwise be identifiable as Jews.
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