A rabbi was beaten, Israelis were thrown out of a restaurant: anti-Semitism is on the rise here

The atmosphere in Europe in recent years has become fertile ground for a murky wave of hostility and anti-Semitism, which threatens to undermine the security and freedom of Jews and Israelis in every public corner. What began as political unrest after the events of October 7 and the spread of tensions surrounding the war in Gaza, has long since spilled into everyday life, the streets, tourist sites and entertainment centers. Italy, like many other countries in the West, finds itself facing a difficult reality where the promise of tolerance and a safe public space is broken time and time again, putting the local communities and Israeli travelers under constant threat.

The data recently published by the CDEC Foundation (Contemporary Jewish Documentation Center) in Milan illustrate the depth of the crisis and teach about an alarming and sharp upward trend. According to official data, the anti-Semitic incidents in Italy almost reached a thousand cases in one year, and jumped to unprecedented highs not seen before. While a significant part of the incitement is carried out in digital spaces and social networks, hundreds of other events translate into blatant physical acts, ranging from vandalism, vandalism of synagogues and graffiti, to direct threats, street harassment and actual physical assaults. This phenomenon is also accompanied today by disturbing initiatives of distributing leaflets calling on citizens to report and monitor the presence of “Israelis and Zionists” in businesses and tourist sites, which creates a sense of hunting and siege among the community members.

The practical and stinging expression of this wave is revealed in the random encounters experienced by Israeli citizens and innocent tourists. In one of the notable cases that occurred this week in northern Italy, a group of Israeli friends who were eating at a local restaurant in the pastoral town of Limone sul Garda on the shores of Lake Garda, asked the waiter for the Wi-Fi password of the place. But instead of elementary service response, they found themselves subjected to a barrage of severe insults from the staff member.

“You are animals. You are child killers,” the waiter slammed them in front of the crowded diners. Astonishingly, the management of the restaurant not only did not intervene or condemn the behavior, but chose to back the employee and call the police to remove the Israeli customers from the place. Although the police officers who arrived at the scene showed professionalism and apologized to the Israelis for the anguish they experienced, the incident left a scar and caused the attackers to post warnings on social media and file official complaints with the authorities.

This reality does not spare the leaders of the communities and the religious symbols either. Yesterday, in the Banda Nera neighborhood in Milan, which is in the heart of the city’s Jewish quarter, a 60-year-old rabbi was attacked with unimaginable cruelty while waiting for the bus. Three young men, apparently of Arab origin, recognized him, surrounded him and began to punch and kick him. The attackers made it worse when they spat on him, stepped on him and removed the cap from his head while trampling it on the asphalt. The rabbi managed to record part of the incident on his mobile phone, escaped and contacted the police, who managed to locate and arrest the three suspects at a nearby metro station. Volker Mangani, president of the Jewish community in Milan, reacted with deep shock and noted that such a serious act of violence had never occurred in the city, expressing deep concern for the future.

The murky wave and the increase in violence did not remain limited to local events, and provoked sharp reactions at the political and religious elite in Italy and around the world. The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Maloney, hastened to publish a harsh public condemnation, expressed deep solidarity with the rabbi who was attacked and with the Jewish community in Milan, and stated that anti-Semitic hatred is a scourge that cannot be tolerated in any way, and that the government will continue to fight it with uncompromising determination. She was joined by the President of the Senate, Ignacio La Rossa, who emphasized that anti-Semitic violence and hatred require uncompromising opposition and the preservation of the values ​​of respect and coexistence.

At the same time, the Vatican leadership also addressed the complex reality, when the Pope stated in a new decree to mark six decades of interreligious dialogue that the difficult conflicts that erupted in the Middle East left their mark and put the delicate relations between Jews and Christians to the test. Even though communication channels and dialogue between religions have been affected by tensions, the Vatican emphasized that the solid foundation built over decades of dialogue remains solid, and maintaining the common fight against anti-Semitism is a critical task that must continue even in the midst of geopolitical turmoil.

These phenomena, ranging from vandalism and online threats to direct physical attacks in the streets and restaurants, present the authorities in Italy and Europe as a whole with a complex security and social challenge. For the Israeli citizens and the local Jewish communities, the test now is not only the immediate enforcement activity of the police forces, but the ability of the state institutions to curb the escalation and ensure the safety of citizens and travelers in the public space.