Prominent US rabbi assaulted at rally in Vienna questions police actions

In the latest incident that could add fuel to the debate about the rise of antisemitism in Europe, a prominent US rabbi was assaulted at a pro-Palestine rally in Vienna on Friday and then taken to a police station for questioning by Austrian police officers.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, also known in the US as “America’s Rabbi”, told Euronews that while holidaying in Vienna with his wife he came across the rally and decided to confront what he said were “Islamists who want Jews murdered”, whom he differentiated from Muslim faithful, whom he called “brothers”.

Videos posted by Boteach online show that he was surrounded by demonstrators during a heated exchange, and one of them kicked him in the leg from behind, after which another person grabbed him by his shirt collar.

In the video, Boteach called on the police to arrest the men, but officers were seen surrounding him to question him instead. Boteach said the officers told him, “Calm down or you will be arrested”. 

Still, he was led to the police station for identification and further questioning, leaving him "humiliated and shocked that this can happen in 2025 in Europe just for wearing a kippah”, he told Euronews. The police officers refused to identify themselves, he stated.

For Boteach, the question remains why he was taken in for questioning and not all who participated in the scuffle.

“I could not believe that right after standing passively as a Jew in Vienna, bothering absolutely no one and suddenly being threatened with murder simply wearing a kippah, I was now being threatened with arrest by the Austrian police," rabbi Boteach explained in a personal post online.

While he told the police that it was minutes from Shabbat, the rabbi said the officers took a statement from him over his acting “cold and aggressive” and claiming it was for a report of assault. But when they saw the videos of the incident, corroborated by witnesses, Boteach said the officers admitted he was the victim and made him sign a statement. 

 “At the end of the two hours, the supervising officer who had been unnecessarily cold and even threatening to me, came to the interview room and was warmer. Perhaps he had googled me. I don’t know," Boteach said.

"He explained that he was also a minority who had immigrated to Austria. He said he understood the threat to the Jewish community. He and I shook hands. But why then did they treat me for hours as a would-be criminal,” he asked.

A spokesperson for the Austrian police told news agency JNS on Sunday that “a brief disturbance occurred involving one person" and that "police officers on site prevented any further confrontation."

Investigation is currently under way on suspicion of attempted assault and property damage by unknown perpetrators, the spokesperson explained. No arrests were made at the gathering, they further added.

Antisemitism in Europe keeps growing

Leading European and international organisations have warned for months of increased antisemitic sentiments on the continent since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)’s J7 Task Force report published in May, violent antisemitic incidents have risen across seven countries with the largest Jewish communities outside of Israel, which include France, Germany and the UK.

The report stated that attacks on Jewish schools, synagogues and businesses, alongside individuals, have increased significantly, in some cases more than doubling in 2023 compared to the previous year.

In Germany, antisemitic incidents increased 75% from 2021 to 2023, 185% in France and 82% in the UK.

Police statistics showed 3,200 crimes motivated by antisemitism occurred between 1 January 2024 and 7 October 2024 in Germany alone, according to the report.

Another survey by US campaign group the Anti-Defamation League from January has found that around half of the world’s adult population holds deeply entrenched antisemitic attitudes, double the number from a decade ago.

In some European countries, as many as four-fifths of the adult population believe in tropes such as that Jews control the media and business, or are responsible for most wars.

Even prior to the war, antisemitism was present on European soil. According to a survey carried out by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights before the war started, 96% of respondents said they experienced antisemitism in Europe between January and June 2023.

Considered by US media as “the most famous Rabbi in America”, Boteach decried his ordeal in Europe as a warning.

“Vienna must choose: Will it be the city of Mozart, of Schubert, of Mahler — or will it remain the city where Jews are attacked in the streets and statues of Jew-haters stand tall?,” he said, adding that he reached out to his “friends at the highest levels of the American government and the Trump cabinet” because “if Austria allows such attacks to pass without serious consequences, it is sending a clear message to its Jewish community: you are on your own.”

“In city after city, from Paris to London to Brussels, anti-Israel rallies have become open calls for violence against Jews," he explained.

"The world looks away. The police stand back — or, as in my case, turn their suspicion on the victim," Boteach concluded.