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At around 8 p.m. last Friday night, a 22-year-old Jewish tourist from France wearing a kippah was attacked in central Rome.
A man pepper-sprayed him in the Italian capital’s Piazza Cairoli while shouting “Free Palestine,” according to the tourist’s complaint.
The following night, four people surrounded the tourist and kicked him at Largo di Torre Argentina, roughly 300 meters away from the site of the first incident. According to his account, the assailants again shouted “Free Palestine,” and he identified one as the man from the previous night.
Italian Carabinieri referred a 31-year-old Algerian man, described as homeless and with a criminal record, to Rome prosecutors over his suspected involvement in both attacks. He is suspected of battery and of propaganda and incitement to crimes motivated by racial, ethnic, or religious discrimination.
Investigators are working to identify three others suspected of taking part in the second assault.
Italian Senate President Ignazio La Russa said Italians must never grow accustomed to such incidents. Antisemitism, he said, must always be recognized, condemned, and confronted firmly.
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani expressed his full solidarity with the victim and the Jewish community. He said Italy stood for religious freedom and must not tolerate hatred against Jews.
Israeli Ambassador to Italy Jonathan Peled called the incidents further evidence that anti-Zionism and antisemitism were “one and the same.”
“When a person of the Jewish faith can no longer walk the streets of a city without being assaulted, it is not just the safety of a minority at stake: it is everyone’s freedom at stake,” Ambassador Peled posted on X.
Take Action
CAM has launched Report It, a secure app to report antisemitic incidents anonymously and in real time. Don’t stay silent. Download it today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. See it. Report it. Stop it.
