Overview

• A 52-year-old French-Jewish man named Elie and his six-year-old son were verbally and physically attacked by a crowd chanting “Free Palestine” and “murderers” at the Lainate motorway service station near Milan on July 27.
• Video footage captured by Elie shows him being pushed to the floor and kicked while bystanders urged him to delete the recording and told him to “go back home.”
• Milan police opened an inquiry immediately, securing CCTV from the scene and neighboring parking area and conducting interviews with the victims and witnesses.
• Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini labeled the assault “very serious” and “unacceptable,” and Noemi Di Segni warned that targeting visibly Jewish individuals poses a threat to civil liberties.
• Data from the Anti-Defamation League’s J7 taskforce shows antisemitic incidents across Europe have surged sharply since the Gaza conflict began, prompting heightened security around Jewish sites.