11 September 2025 , 22:11
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A Jewish tourist couple have been assaulted by a group of 10 migrants in the latest in a series of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe.
The American and Israeli pair were surrounded by the North African men shortly before midnight on Strada Nuova, one of the main shopping thoroughfares near the Rialto Bridge in the northern Italian city.
The couple, wearing Orthodox clothing, tried to flee but were chased and surrounded by the group, who chanted “Free Palestine”.
One then set his unmuzzled rottweiler on the tourists, while another slapped the man and a glass bottle was thrown, shattering and injuring the woman’s ankle.
Officers from the Guardia di Finanza, Italy’s financial crimes unit, saw the attack and intervened.
Three of the men were arrested, including a 31-year-old Tunisian who had slapped the husband. The Modena resident was charged with assault and banned from entering Venice for two years by its police chief.
Two others were found to be illegally residing in Italy and were transferred to a detention centre, where they await deportation.
The Jewish Community of Venice condemned the attack as a “cowardly and despicable act,” and said that it called into question Venice’s tradition as a welcoming city.
Venice is home to what is widely considered the oldest Jewish Ghetto in Europe.
The city’s mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in a statement: “Venice is and must continue to be an open, welcoming and safe city, where mutual respect is the foundation of civil coexistence.
“This attack is a serious and unacceptable act, which I condemn in the strongest terms. We firmly say ‘no’ to any resurgence of anti-Semitism, as well as to Islamophobia. Venice will never tolerate any form of hatred or discrimination.”
The attack comes just a month after another Jewish American couple were attacked by the Rialto Bridge in Venice.
Three men threw water at the couple, then spat at them and again set a dog on them, along with a flurry of anti-Semitic insults.
Anti-Semitic attacks have risen sharply in Europe amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
In August, vandals sprayed “Free Palestine” on British Jews’ cars parked in the French Alps.
Spanish airline Iberia has also launched an internal investigation after passengers who requested a kosher meal from Buenos Aires to Madrid received meal trays marked “Free Palestine” or the initials FP on their meal packaging earlier this month.
Head of Investigations