Attackers shouted ‘Zionists’ and ‘Jew’
Nick Bergamini, Vice-President Student Issues at Carleton University, says he and roommate Mark Klibanov were attacked early Monday morning by a group of men yelling that they were Zionists and Jews.
Bergamini, who is not Jewish but is a vocal supporter of Israel, was leaving a downtown bar around 1:45 a.m. when he responded to the shouts. “I said I love Israel because I support Israel’s right to exist,” Bergamini told the Ottawa Citizen. That’s when he and Klibanov found themselves surrounded by about 10 men. Bergamini says he was then struck in the back of the head.
Bergamini and Klibanov ran to the bar entrance where the bouncers were stationed. About 10 minutes later, as they were walking home, a car up alongside them. According to Bergamini, who described the incident in a Facebook post, there were three men inside and the driver rolled down his window and said, “I f——g hit you, you Jew.”
As the men got out of the car, Bergamini says he heard one of them say, “Open the trunk,” as another reached in and allegedly pulled out a machete. The men began to run, being chased by a machete-wielding attacker. Klibanov told the Citizen that the weapon was nearly a foot from hitting Bergamini’s neck. “These people must have been Carleton students because I recognized one of them,” Bergamini told the paper.
A report has been filed with Gatineau police. Lt. Gilbert Couture confirmed that police are investigating.