The mayor of Venice has condemned what he described as a “serious and unacceptable act” following an antisemitic assault on two American Orthodox Jewish tourists. According to Italian news agency AGI, the couple, who were visibly Jewish due to their traditional Orthodox clothing, were walking through the city on Sunday night when they were harassed by a group shouting “Free Palestine.” The verbal aggression escalated into physical violence as the couple were reportedly slapped by their assailants. Police later apprehended three suspects believed to be of North African origin; two received expulsion orders, and the third was deported, reports The Jerusalem Post.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro took to social media to respond, stating that Venice “must continue to be an open, welcoming, and safe city, where mutual respect forms the foundation of civil coexistence.” He firmly condemned the assault, emphasising that such incidents have no place in Venetian society. The Jewish Community of Venice, which represents one of the oldest Jewish ghettos in Europe and a current population of approximately 450 Jews, issued its own statement condemning the “vile and ignoble act.” The community warned that incidents like this challenge Venice’s image as a welcoming city and signal a troubling rise in intolerance that threatens the broader civic fabric.
This attack follows another reported antisemitic incident in Venice just weeks earlier. A Jewish man and his pregnant wife were harassed near the city centre by three individuals who called the husband a “dirty Jew,” threw water on them, and spat at them. One of the perpetrators allegedly set a dog on the couple, though the animal bit into a mobile phone in the man’s pocket rather than causing physical harm.
These incidents in Venice reflect a wider pattern of rising antisemitism across Europe, much of it linked to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. However, many attacks appear to target Jews simply for their identity. In Austria, an Israeli cellist reported being asked to leave a restaurant after being overheard speaking Hebrew. In Spain, dozens of French Jewish teenagers were removed from a flight for what was allegedly “disruptive behaviour,” which they say involved merely singing in Hebrew. Spain’s transport minister, Óscar Puente, later deleted a tweet in which he referred to the youths as “Israeli brats.” In Milan, a Jewish father travelling with his six-year-old son was reportedly pushed to the ground and repeatedly kicked while being told, “Go back to your country, murderers.” Elsewhere, Orthodox Jewish tourists from England found their vehicles vandalised with “Free Palestine” graffiti at a rest stop in the Alps.
This string of events has led to growing concerns within the Jewish community and among Israeli travellers. According to a recent study by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), three-quarters of Jewish Israelis and nearly two-thirds of Arab Israelis said that their travel plans had been affected by reports of rising antisemitism and attacks on Israelis abroad. Among religiously observant Jews—those more likely to be visibly identifiable by their clothing or kippah—the rate was even higher.
Photo Credit: Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images
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