VENICE, Italy — An American Orthodox Jewish couple was violently assaulted just after midnight between August 9 and 10, in Venice’s historic Jewish ghetto. A gang of three men attacked them, unleashing a dog that bit the husband’s pocket, spitting on him, and stealing his phone. His five-month-pregnant wife froze in fear, clutching her stomach before fleeing to safety in a nearby kosher restaurant. Italian police are investigating the incident and reviewing surveillance footage to identify the attackers.
According to reports, the couple had just walked from a Chabad-affiliated kosher restaurant in the ghetto when three unidentified men approached. They shouted slurs, threw a drink, spat in the husband’s face, and shoved him. One assailant unleashed a large dog that attacked. The animal sank its teeth into the man’s pants pocket, narrowly missing him.
The couple immediately fled back to the restaurant, where the wife remained shaken, still cradling her abdomen in shock. Witnesses later told local media that passers-by “acted as if nothing had happened.”
Italian authorities have opened an official investigation. Police confirmed they are reviewing nearby security footage and are contacting the victims, even though the couple returned to the United States without filing a formal complaint. Investigators noted that, under Italian law, they may proceed ex officio if bias or hate crime motivation is suspected.
Incidents targeting Jews in European urban centers have surged since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre. Italian Jewish community leaders voiced alarm at the latest attack. They warned that what happened in Venice reflects a broader climate of escalating antisemitism.
This article is based on verified information from The Algemeiner, The Yeshiva World, and Italian Jewish community reports.