By: Fern Sidman – Jewish Voice News

In a deeply disturbing act of antisemitic violence that has drawn widespread condemnation, an Orthodox Jewish man was viciously assaulted on Monday at Milan’s bustling Central Station by a 25-year-old Pakistani national, according to detailed report at VIN News. The attack, which Italian authorities have described as “serious and brutal,” underscores growing concerns across Europe about the resurgence of violent antisemitism amid heightened tensions surrounding the war in the Middle East.

The incident occurred in full public view at one of Italy’s busiest transit hubs, shocking onlookers as the assailant launched a sudden and unprovoked assault on the visibly Jewish victim. VIN News reported that witnesses saw the attacker repeatedly punching and kicking the man while hurling hateful invective rooted in antisemitic conspiracy and political grievance.

According to the report that appeared on Tuesday at VIN News, the suspect shouted, “You s**t Jews, you kill children in Palestine, and I’ll kill you,” as he struck the victim, invoking an explicitly antisemitic and politicized justification for his violence. Even after being restrained and arrested by Italian police, the man reportedly continued to shout “Allahu Akbar”—the Arabic phrase meaning “God is great”—while being led away in handcuffs. Officers later recovered a ring stolen from the victim, which the attacker handed over without apology.

The swift judicial proceedings following the arrest have drawn significant attention. A Milanese fast-track judge, in formally validating the arrest, characterized the attack as “serious and brutal” and emphasized the “lack of repentance” displayed by the defendant. Citing the VIN News report, the judge noted that during the preliminary hearing, the accused showed no remorse and even attempted to rationalize his conduct, claiming that he had acted “in anger” after seeing symbols of Jewish faith.

The suspect, whose identity has not been publicly released in accordance with Italian privacy laws, admitted both the physical assault and the verbal abuse in court. Prosecutors swiftly filed charges of aggravated assault motivated by racial, ethnic, and religious hatred—a classification that could significantly increase the severity of sentencing under Italian criminal law.

According to the information provided in the VIN News report, prosecutors also warned the court that the assailant posed an ongoing “risk of recidivism”, noting that he had exhibited violent behavior toward other bystanders at the station on the same day. Witnesses reportedly told investigators that the man appeared agitated and erratic even before the attack on the Orthodox Jewish victim.

The defense requested leniency on the grounds that the suspect had no prior criminal record. However, the judge rejected the plea for a lesser measure, citing the gravity of the attack and its ideological motivation. The case has now been referred for trial, with proceedings scheduled to begin on December 4. If convicted, the assailant faces up to six years in prison under Italy’s anti-hate crime statutes.

The assault has been widely interpreted as part of a troubling pattern of antisemitic violence sweeping Europe since the start of the Israel–Hamas war in October 2023. The VIN News report observed that Italy, long considered one of Western Europe’s safer countries for Jewish residents, has seen a marked uptick in anti-Jewish incidents over the past year.

Jewish community organizations in Milan condemned the attack as symptomatic of an “unraveling of social civility” and the failure of European institutions to confront antisemitism embedded in extremist ideology. “When Jews are assaulted for wearing a kippah or for simply existing as Jews, it means something has gone terribly wrong in Europe again,” one communal leader told VIN News.

The Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) issued a statement expressing “deep sorrow and outrage” over the incident, urging the Italian government to intensify security protections for synagogues, schools, and community centers. Italian law enforcement officials have reportedly increased patrols in Jewish neighborhoods in both Milan and Rome following Monday’s attack.

The VIN News report also noted that international Jewish watchdog groups, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center and European Jewish Congress, have called on Italian authorities to ensure the perpetrator is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. “Words of solidarity must be matched by decisive action,” the Wiesenthal Center stated. “This was not merely an assault—it was an act of terror against Jewish life in Europe.”

The Milan incident comes at a time when antisemitic rhetoric—both online and in street demonstrations—has reached levels unseen in decades. As the VIN News report emphasized, much of the hostility has been fueled by extremist attempts to conflate Jews worldwide with the actions of the Israeli government, creating a dangerous environment in which visibly Jewish individuals are being targeted for retribution.

Scholars interviewed by VIN News have described this dynamic as “a catastrophic moral collapse” in which political protest has blurred into religious hatred. “The slogans of the mob have found their way into physical violence,” one Italian historian told the outlet. “And as history teaches, this never ends with one attack—it metastasizes.”

The Orthodox Jewish community of Milan, numbering roughly 10,000, has expressed resilience in the face of fear. Local leaders told VIN News that synagogues will remain open and that faith will not be “driven underground by terror.” However, they also appealed for international vigilance and unity in combating antisemitic propaganda.

As the December trial approaches, Italy—and indeed Europe—will be watching closely. For many, the brutal assault at Milan’s Central Station is not just a criminal case but a litmus test of Europe’s moral resolve to defend its Jewish citizens in an era of rising extremism.

As the VIN News report succinctly indicated, “The attack in Milan was not only an assault on one man—it was an assault on civilization itself.”