Last night, in Vienna — Hitler’s city — before Shabbat, I was assaulted by a mob of Islamist thugs at an anti-Israel “Free Palestine” rally.
I was shoved, kicked, and manhandled — just for wearing my kippah and tzitzit. Debbie was terrified and deeply traumatized amid the dangerous attack. We were lucky to escape with our lives.
And the worst part? The police threatened to arrest ME.
For two hours, Debbie and I were taken to a Vienna police station on Shabbat. After many threats to arrest me, they finally looked at the many videos provided by several horrified American tourists - including a hero tourist California cop - and stopped treating me as the criminal.
My attackers? Were they free to walk away? Was anyone arrested? Warned? Interrogated? I have no idea, even though HUNDREDS of people watched me being physically assaulted for simply being visibly Jewish.
The police demanded my ID and treated me not as a victim but as an assailant. It took the testimony of the American police officer who saw the entire attack and stayed, along with our two wives and me, for hours to help us — that the Austrian police admitted I was the victim. I was terrified, humiliated, degraded, and dehumanized.
This is Vienna, where Hitler was inspired by virulent Jew-hater Mayor Karl Lueger — whose statue still stands in 2025, a fact which is absolutely disgusting.
This is Vienna, where in March 1938, 1 million Austrians cheered Hitler’s Anschluss speech from the balcony of the Hofburg Palace.
Last night, I felt the echo of that hate.
Europe is not safe for Jews. Not when mobs attack us in the streets and police threaten to jail the victims.
I will not be silent. My attackers MUST be brought to justice.
📢 Share this story. Demand Austria act. If you have connections to Austrian lawmakers, contact them. Please!!