A 60-year-old rabbi was assaulted by three young men Wednesday evening while waiting at a bus stop in Milan’s Bande Nere neighborhood, near the city’s Jewish quarter, according to Italian media reports.
Public broadcaster Rai reported that the assailants recognized the rabbi by his clothing before the attack. The group kicked and punched him, then took his hat, stomping and spitting on it before fleeing toward the Bande Nere subway station. The rabbi managed to photograph and film the three men as they ran off.
He reported the assault to local police and was taken to a hospital afterward.
Italian authorities identified the three suspects as young men born in Italy, of North African origin, ranging in age from 19 to 22, each with a prior criminal record. Investigators say the group lives in Milan’s surrounding province but regularly travels into the city to commit crimes.
By Thursday morning, officers from Italy’s Digos investigative division had arrested a 20-year-old Tunisian man believed to be the main attacker. Rai identified the other two suspects as a 19-year-old of Tunisian origin and a 22-year-old of Moroccan origin. Milan’s local government is expected to issue expulsion orders against all three.
Walker Meghnagi, president of the Milan Jewish Community, told the news agency ANSA that the level of violence was unprecedented for the city.
“I feel ashamed of my country for what has happened, we have never seen anything this violent.”
“Nothing this violent has ever happened before. They kicked and punched him, took his hat off, stomped on him, and spat on him. From what I’ve been told, they were three people of Arab descent.”
Italian officials condemned the attack in the hours that followed. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a statement expressing solidarity with the rabbi and Milan’s Jewish community.
“This was a cowardly and unacceptable act, which I condemn in the strongest possible terms. Anti-Semitic hatred is a scourge that we cannot and will not tolerate in any form, and we will continue to combat it with determination.”
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called the incident “Very serious. Terrible. Unacceptable” in a social media post.
“Scenes of antisemitic hatred and violence that we thought had been consigned forever to history, and that instead return tragically to our cities.”
“For months we have been denouncing a climate of growing antisemitism, too often underestimated, justified, or fueled even by certain political factions with dangerous words and ambiguities. We cannot and must not get used to all this.”
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