Jewish Father and Son Verbally Assaulted in Italy Over Child’s Kippah

A Jewish man from France and his child were verbally assaulted at a gas station near Milan in Italy this week by a group of pro-Palestinian supporters — an incident that has triggered strong condemnation from the country’s Jewish community.

On Monday, a group of pro-Palestinian individuals shouted antisemitic slurs at a Jewish man and his son after spotting the child wearing a kippah, hurling phrases like “Free Palestine” and “murderers” as they passed by.

The incident was captured and widely shared on social media, showing the father shouting “Am Yisrael Chai” — Hebrew for “The people of Israel live” — in response to the antisemitic insults, while his child appeared visibly upset.

ITALY NOW: Rabbi and Child Attacked for Being Jewish

At an Autogrill in Milan, a rabbi and his little boy were screamed at by a mob yelling “Palestine” slogans.

No Israeli symbols. No politics.

Just a Jew and his son. pic.twitter.com/Ha91adA55P

— Shirion Collective (@ShirionOrg) July 28, 2025

Amid a growing wave of antisemitic hate crimes, this latest incident has sparked widespread outrage on social media, with activists and the local Jewish community calling for urgent and decisive measures to combat the increasing anti-Jewish hatred across Europe.

Yossi Spitzky, a French-Jewish public relations activist, denounced the incident on social media, calling the surge in antisemitism “completely unbearable.”

“A Jewish man stopped at a gas station on a highway in Italy and was targeted with chants of ‘Free Palestine’ just because his son was wearing a kippah. He’s French — this has nothing to do with Israel,” he wrote in a post on social media.

“How far have we fallen? Don’t you think this has gone too far? In ten years, will we be saying ‘never again,’ or will we choose to stand up against this hatred now?” he continued.

The incident comes amid a surge in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment across Europe and around the world since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In Italy, Jewish individuals have been facing a surge in hostility and targeted attacks, including vandalism of murals and businesses, as well as physical assaults. Community leaders warn that such incidents are becoming more frequent amid growing tensions related to the war in Gaza.

Last month, a masked individual targeted a synagogue in Rome, spray-painting a swastika and antisemitic slogans — “Sieg Heil” (“Hail Victory”) and “Juden Raus” (“Jews Out”) — on a sign near the entrance.

In May, a restaurant in Naples forced an Israeli family to leave, telling them, “Zionists are not welcome here.”

Earlier this year, a homeless Egyptian man in Rome attacked a Jewish boy and injured a shopkeeper who tried to intervene. In a separate incident, anti-Israel protesters defaced a synagogue with graffiti reading “Justice for a Free Gaza.”

Last year, a hotel manager in Rome canceled an Israeli couple’s reservation just one day before their trip, accusing them of genocide and telling them the hotel would “be happy to grant free cancellation.”

“We inform you that the Israeli people as those responsible for genocide are not welcome customers in our structure,” the hotel manager told the Israeli couple.

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