This article is from: srnnews.com
Elderly Rabbi Assaulted and Threatened in Rome’s Jewish Quarter
By The Media Line Staff
An elderly rabbi was shoved and threatened by a man who also made references to Islam during a confrontation in Rome’s historic Jewish Quarter on Wednesday evening, Italian daily Il Messaggero reported.
The rabbi was walking in the neighborhood at around 7 p.m. when he encountered the man, who spat on the ground and began directing insults at him. The verbal abuse escalated into threats before the man pushed him.
“I told him to leave me alone and that he could not speak to me that way, but instead of calming down, he pushed me,” the rabbi told Il Messaggero.
The rabbi said the man also referred to Islam and religion while confronting him. He described the assailant as apparently of foreign origin but fluent in Italian. The assailant appeared to be fully aware of his actions and did not seem drunk or otherwise impaired, the rabbi added.
People working and passing through the area noticed the altercation. A waiter from a nearby business stepped in on the rabbi’s behalf and warned the man that law enforcement would be called. This intervention brought the encounter to an end, with the man leaving the area before police were summoned.
Despite being physically assaulted and threatened, the rabbi chose not to make a formal complaint to the police, Il Messaggero reported.
The event follows other attacks in Rome’s Jewish quarter. A 22-year-old French Jewish tourist was attacked on Aug. 7 and again on Aug. 8 while wearing a kippah in central Rome. These assaults occurred near Piazza Cairoli and Largo di Torre Argentina, several hundred meters from the city’s historic Jewish Quarter. During the attacks, the tourist was pepper-sprayed and kicked as his assailant shouted, “Free Palestine.” Italian authorities later detained and referred a suspect in connection with the incidents.
Victor Fadlun, president of the Jewish Community of Rome, has expressed concern over what Jewish leaders describe as a growing number of antisemitic incidents in the capital, with hostility increasingly taking the form of intimidation and harassment in public spaces.
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