Insults, shoving, and beatings. A young American Orthodox Jew who was with his five-months-pregnant wife in the Rialto area on the night between Saturday and Sunday was attacked by a small group of rioters with a large dog, apparently trying to start a fight. The incident occurred around midnight.
The man, a Lubavitch Jew , or member of the Orthodox Hasidic movement, was reportedly attacked by two or three individuals who poured a drink on him and spat in his face. The young man attempted to defend himself from the dog, which one of the attackers unleashed on him. Fortunately, the animal only bit the cell phone he was carrying in his pocket. The group reportedly shouted racial slurs at the couple and threatened to kill them.
A husband and wife, five months pregnant, in shock, managed to escape and took refuge at the kosher Jewish restaurant Gam Gam alle Guglie , where they had been staying. At this time, however, no formal complaint has been filed, and only the version of events offered by the two American Orthodox Jewish tourists , who have already left Venice, has been given to the Orthodox community.
The State Police, informed of the incident, will review the surveillance cameras to determine what actually happened and what triggered the fight, whether other people were involved, and whether the incident can truly be traced back to a racially motivated context.
