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Jewish Father and Son Verbally Assaulted in Italy Over Child’s Kippah
Demonstrators participate in a pro-Palestinian protest in Piazza Duomo in Milan, Italy, on November 23, 2024 (Photo by Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto)
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.
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.
The post Jewish Father and Son Verbally Assaulted in Italy Over Child’s Kippah first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Secretary of State Rubio Visits Western Wall with PM Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahou and Marco Rubio. Photo: David Azagury, US Embassy Jerusalem
i24 News – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked off his official visit to Israel on Sunday with a symbolic visit to Jerusalem’s Western Wall. He was accompanied by his wife Janet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, as well as US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife.
The delegation participated in the reading of a psalm and a prayer honoring the US president for his support of Israel, commitment to regional security, and efforts toward peace. A separate prayer called for the swift return of hostages held in Gaza.
Rubio and the officials then toured newly uncovered archaeological tunnels beneath the Western Wall, where Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, presented artifacts dating to the destruction of the Second Temple.
Netanyahu hailed Rubio’s visit as a demonstration of the enduring strength of the US-Israel alliance. “This visit is a testament to the resilience and strength of the American-Israeli alliance, which is as durable and strong as the stones of the Western Wall,” he said. “Under President Trump, Secretary Rubio and their entire team, this alliance has never been stronger.”
At the conclusion of the visit, Rubio signed the Western Wall guest book, writing: “May peace arise over this Holy Land and the entire world.” The gesture marks the start of a diplomatic trip aimed at reinforcing US-Israel cooperation amid heightened regional tensions stemming from the conflict in Gaza.
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Arab-Islamic Summit to Back Qatar After Israeli Attack
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, attends the preparatory ministerial meeting for emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha, Qatar September 14, 2025. Photo: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
An Arab-Islamic leaders summit in Doha on Monday is expected to rally support for Qatar in the wake of last week’s Israeli attack targeting the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the Gulf state.
A draft of the resolution that will be considered by heads of state condemned Israel’s attack as a destabilize escalation and said the states opposed Israel’s “plans to impose a new reality in the region.”
The draft, which was seen by Reuters, did not mention any diplomatic or economic moves against Israel. The resolution may change before the leaders meet in Doha on Monday.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said in a televised address on Sunday that Israel’s actions would not stop Doha’s mediation efforts with Egypt and the US to end the war in Gaza.
The September 9 attack, which Hamas says killed five of its members but not its leadership, has prompted US-allied Gulf Arab states to close ranks, adding to strains in ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, which normalized relations in 2020.
The emergency summit, bringing together members of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, began with a meeting of foreign ministers on Sunday to craft the draft resolution.
The gathering is a message that “Qatar is not alone … and that Arab and Islamic states stand by it,” Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
NETANYAHU KEEPS UP PRESSURE
Hitting back at global condemnation of the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has kept up pressure on Qatar over the presence of Hamas leaders on its soil, warning Doha on Wednesday to either expel Hamas officials or “bring them to justice, because if you don’t, we will.”
Qatar, a key mediator in efforts aimed at ending the nearly two-year Gaza war, has accused Israel of sabotaging chances for peace and Netanyahu of practicing “state terrorism.” A member of Qatar’s internal security forces was among those killed.
US President Donald Trump has signaled unhappiness over the Israeli attack, saying it did not advance Israeli or US goals, calling Qatar a close ally working hard to broker peace.
He also said eliminating Hamas was “a worthy goal.” After the attack, he told Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil.”
Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas leaders living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing hostages still held by the group in Gaza and ending the war that began with the militant group’s October 7, 2023 attacks.
The UAE, a US ally and the most prominent Arab state to normalize ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, on Friday summoned the deputy Israeli ambassador over the attack and subsequent remarks by Netanyahu which it described as hostile.
The UAE has described Qatar’s stability as an “inseparable part of the security and stability of the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council,” which includes Saudi Arabia.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.