Italian Chief Rabbi’s Parents Survive Tunisia Museum Rampage

Image by getty images
Two Italian Jewish tourists survived the terrorist attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunisia.
Alberto Di Porto, 71, and Anna Di Porto, 60, of Rome both managed to escape the shooting attack Wednesday in the capital city of Tunisia by gunmen wearing what appeared to be military uniforms which, according to reports at press time, left at least 20 people dead, including 17 tourists. The Di Portos, who were visiting Tunis as part of a cruise, are the parents of Ariel Di Porto, the chief rabbi of Turin, Italy.
According to a report by the Italian Jewish magazine Pagine Ebraiche, Alberto Di Porto injured his leg while running from the museum and was taken to a local hospital. The Italian news site La Voce reported that the couple was separated, with Anna Di Porto taken by police with other rescued visitors to a safe and secret location.
“They are both safe and that is the most important thing,” their daughter told Pagine Ebraiche. “I hope that they can get back to Italy as soon as possible. Hopefully even tonight.”
The number of foreign tourists killed in Wednesday’s attack on the national museum in Tunisia has risen to 20 from 17 dead, Tunisia’s health minister said on Thursday.
Three Tunisians also died in the attack.
Two gunmen opened fire on the Bardo museum in Tunis on Wednesday, killing tourists from Spain, Poland, Japan and Colombia, among other nationalities, in the worst attack in more than a decade in the North African country.
With Reuters
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
