Milan Shliach Violently Attacked, Three Suspects Arrested

Rabbi Tzemach Mizrachi, a longtime shliach in Milan and rov of Beit Hatalmud, Heichal Menachem, was violently attacked by three Muslim men on Wednesday afternoon while on his way to pick up his children from school.

Rabbi Mizrachi was waiting in the Bande Nere area, near Milan’s Jewish neighborhood, when the three began harassing him and grabbed his hat.

“The three began provoking me and grabbed my hat,” Rabbi Mizrachi related. “When I asked them to return it, one of the attackers gave me a powerful kick that sent me flying into the street, but Boruch Hashem I did not require medical treatment.”

The attackers also kicked and struck Rabbi Mizrachi, trampled his hat and spat at him. The three, described by Milan Jewish community president Walker Meghnagi as being of Arab origin, also hurled insults in Arabic.

Despite the attack, Rabbi Mizrachi managed to follow the three as they fled and photographed and filmed them, helping police locate the attackers nearby. All three were taken into custody.

Rabbi Mizrachi remained at the police station for several hours as officers continued their investigation.

“I have been at the police station for several hours for clarification and to complete the investigation,” he said. “The police took it very seriously, arrested the attackers immediately, and tonight they will remain in custody.”

Rabbi Mizrachi, an Israeli who has been on shlichus in Milan for around three decades, said that the atmosphere on the city’s streets has become increasingly concerning.

“Recently, the situation is that we are beginning to feel their presence in the streets more and more,” Rabbi Mizrachi said.

At the same time, he praised the police response. “The police took it very seriously. They arrested the attackers immediately, and tonight they will remain in custody,” he said, expressing hope that the arrests would serve as a deterrent and help restore calm.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the attack as “a vile and unacceptable episode,” expressing solidarity with Rabbi Mizrachi and Milan’s Jewish community. She said antisemitic hatred is “a scourge that we cannot and do not want to tolerate in any form.”

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called the attack “very serious, terrible, unacceptable,” warning that scenes of antisemitic hatred and violence were once again appearing in Italian cities and saying that the growth of antisemitism had been underestimated.

Walker Meghnagi, president of Milan’s Jewish community, said Rabbi Mizrachi had been targeted because his visibly Jewish appearance identified him. He described the assault as racially motivated and said that “something this violent has never happened before” to a rabbi in Milan.

Davide Romano, director of Milan’s Jewish Brigade Museum, called the attack “chilling” and urged authorities to investigate not only the attackers themselves but also those he described as their possible “moral instigators.”