A severe and violent act of Jew-hatred has sparked outrage and shock in Italy after a rabbi in his 60s was brutally attacked, beaten and humiliated today (Wednesday) on the streets of Milan while waiting for a bus in the Bande Nere area. The attackers identified him as Jewish by his traditional clothing and, without provocation, descended on him, severely beat him, grabbed his hat, trampled it underfoot and spat on him.
1+Details of the brutal attack were revealed by Walker Meghnagi, president of Milan’s Jewish community, who described the incident as exceptional in its severity. “Something so violent has never happened here,” Meghnagi told Italian news agency ANSA. “I am ashamed of my country, if I may say so. I am ashamed of what is happening. He was simply waiting for the bus, and they identified him by his clothing. It is easy to say that the police caught the attackers, but how long can security forces patrol and monitor in order to prevent things like this from happening?”
Meghnagi directly linked the attack to the heated political debate currently taking place in the Italian parliament over legislation to combat Jew-hatred. “We are right on the verge of approving the bill on this issue, and this is clearly a racially motivated attack. I would like to say to all the parties that are not voting for the law and that come to the Chamber of Deputies with protest signs—wake up. The blame is entirely yours.”
1+Davide Romano, director of the Jewish Brigade Museum in Milan, also responded sharply to the attack. “What happened here is simply chilling. The fact that the three attackers were located and arrested by security forces is a necessary and important step, but now we must go one step further and understand who stands behind them as those who provided them with inspiration and moral guidance.” Following the rabbi’s complaint, Milan police quickly opened an investigation, and the attackers were located by security forces.
Italy, like many European countries, has recorded a sharp and troubling rise in violent incidents and open hostility toward Jewish institutions and members of local Jewish communities since Oct. 7. Against this backdrop, government officials have sought to advance tougher legislation defining Jew-hatred and increasing penalties for hate crimes, but those initiatives have encountered opposition and fierce debate from left-wing opposition parties, which argue that they threaten freedom of expression.
Milan’s Jewish community, one of Europe’s oldest and most significant, is currently experiencing a growing sense of insecurity on the streets. The broad-daylight attack on a rabbi simply waiting at a bus stop illustrates the dangerous escalation facing those who visibly display their Jewish identity in public.