A Jewish American and Israeli couple were assaulted late on Thursday night in Venice when a group of men chased them, chanted "Free Palestine" and set a rottweiler on the pair, Italian authorities and the Jewish Community of Venice said.
The incident occurred shortly before midnight on Strada Nuova, a main shopping street near the Rialto Bridge, according to the Italian news agency AGI and local police reports. The couple, who were wearing Orthodox Jewish clothing, attempted to flee but were surrounded and struck, AGI reported. A glass bottle thrown during the incident shattered and injured the woman's ankle.
Officers from the Guardia di Finanza, Italy's financial police, intervened after witnessing the assault and halted the attack, AGI said. Police arrested a 31-year-old Tunisian man who was identified as having slapped one of the tourists; he has been charged with assault and banned from entering the city of Venice for two years. Two other men detained at the scene were found to be living in Italy without legal status and were transferred to a detention centre, where they are awaiting deportation, authorities said.
The Jewish Community of Venice condemned the attack as a "cowardly and despicable act," saying it undermined the city's reputation as a welcoming place for residents and visitors. Venice, which traces the site of the first Jewish ghetto in Europe, has a community of about 450 people, the community organization said.
Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, said the city must remain "open, welcoming and safe," adding, "We firmly say 'no' to any resurgence of antisemitism, as well as to Islamophobia. Venice will never tolerate any form of hatred or discrimination." Mayor Brugnaro called the attack "serious and unacceptable" and said he condemned it "in the strongest terms."
Italian authorities have not released the full identities of the suspects pending further investigation. AGI and local police reports described the assailants as North African men; official statements focused on the arrests, the immigration status of two detainees and the injuries to the victims.
The assault in Venice is the latest in a series of incidents targeting Jewish people in Europe since the outbreak of intensive fighting in Gaza earlier this year. A month earlier, another Jewish American couple reported being assaulted near the Rialto Bridge, with three men accused of throwing water, spitting, setting a dog on the couple and hurling antisemitic insults. In August, vandals sprayed "Free Palestine" on vehicles belonging to strictly Orthodox Jewish holidaymakers in Châtel in the French Alps, police and victims reported.
Local police and prosecutors are continuing their inquiries into Thursday's attack. The Guardia di Finanza's rapid intervention led to immediate detentions, and municipal and community officials have said they will monitor the case and coordinate with national authorities on security and immigration enforcement as the investigation proceeds.