A Jewish tourist sits injured at Milan’s Central Station after being assaulted by a pro-Palestinian individual, part of a rising wave of anti-Jewish attacks in Italy. Photo: Screenshot

A group of Orthodox Jewish American tourists was brutally attacked at Milan’s Central Station on Monday by a pro-Palestinian individual, the latest in a rising wave of antisemitic hate crimes across Italy, sparking outrage within the local Jewish community.

Local authorities in Milan, northern Italy, arrested a 25-year-old Pakistani man for allegedly assaulting a Jewish tourist from the United States, Italian news agency RAI reported.

The victim, who was with a group of 10 Orthodox Jewish tourists visiting Italy, was checking the departure board when the assailant began harassing him. 

The attacker then allegedly chased the victim while punching and kicking him and striking him in the head with a blunt metal ring.

During the attack, the Pakistani man reportedly shouted antisemitic insults and threats, including “dirty Jews” and “you kill children in Palestine, and I’ll kill you.”

Shortly afterward, train personnel restrained the suspect, and local police arrested him on charges of aggravated assault motivated by racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination.

Meanwhile, the victim was taken to a local hospital with a minor head injury.

According to local reports, Judge Sofia Fioretta explained that the charges were expedited due to “the seriousness of the conduct, its brutality, and the total absence of remorse.” The 25-year-old assailant admitted to the charges against him.

Walker Meghnagi, president of Milan’s Jewish community, condemned the incident, warning of the growing climate of hostility toward Jews in Italy.

“Many Jewish tourists, particularly Americans but also others, avoid visiting Milan because of the climate of hatred and the fear of being attacked,” Meghnagi told the Italian news outlet Il Giorno.

This latest 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 have warned that such incidents are becoming more frequent amid growing tensions related to the war in Gaza.

In September, a Jewish couple was walking through Venice in traditional Orthodox clothing when three assailants confronted them, shouted “Free Palestine,” and physically attacked them, slapping both.

This incident followed another attack on a Jewish couple in Venice the month before, when a man and his pregnant wife were harassed near the city center by three unknown individuals.

The attackers approached the couple, shouting antisemitic insults and calling the husband a “dirty Jew,” while physically assaulting them by throwing water and spitting on them.

One of the assailants later set his dog on the couple in an attempt to intimidate them before the group stole their phones.

Earlier this summer, a Jewish man from France and his child were verbally assaulted at a gas station near Milan by a group of pro-Palestinian activists who shouted antisemitic slurs after seeing the child wearing a kippah, yelling phrases such as “Free Palestine” and “murderers” as they passed by.

In a separate incident, 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 another 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.

Actor Gal Gadot gestures during the unveiling ceremony for her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, US, March 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Israeli actress and producer Gal Gadot has been awarded the 2026 Genesis Prize by Israel in recognition of her strong support and advocacy for her home country amid its war with Hamas in Gaza and despite the negative impacts it had on her career, the Genesis Prize Foundation (GPF) announced on Tuesday.

The annual $1 million Genesis Prize, which has been nicknamed the “Jewish Nobel” by Time magazine, honors individuals “for their professional excellence, significant impact in their fields, and dedication to Jewish values.” It is a global award that celebrates “Jewish contribution to humanity” and all recipients donate their $1 million prize to various philanthropic causes.

Gadot called herself a “proud Jew and a proud Israeli” who loves her home country in a statement released by the GPF. The “Wonder Woman” star and mother of four is donating her $1 million prize to organizations that are helping Israelis recover in the aftermath of the Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent two-year war between Israel and Hamas. A date for the awards ceremony next year was not announced.

“I am humbled to receive the Genesis Prize and to stand alongside the amazing laureates who came before me,” the “Snow White” star said. “[I] dedicate this award to the organizations who will help Israel heal and to those incredible people who serve on the front lines of compassion. Israel has endured unimaginable pain. Now we must begin to heal – to rebuild hearts, families, and communities.”

GFP co-founder and chairman Stan Polovets praised Gadot’s “moral clarity and unwavering love for Israel.”

“The award recognizes her bravery and moral courage – her steadfast defense of Israel at great personal and professional risk, her advocacy for the hostages, her compassion for victims of terror, and her empathy for all innocent victims of this terrible war unleashed by Hamas,” he said. “Her decision to turn the Genesis Prize honor into a mission of healing embodies the very purpose of the prize – to celebrate achievement and channel it for good.”

Gadot condemned the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, immediately after the deadly attack took place in southern Israel and has defended her home country repeatedly since the start of its war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. She has called for the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, met with families of former hostages, and arranged in Los Angeles private screenings for Hollywood figures to see uncensored, raw footage that documents the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. In a magazine interview earlier this year, she pleaded for an end to the Israel-Hamas war that includes a “diplomatic agreement that allows all parts of the table to live a good and prosperous life.”

In August, hundreds of anti-Israel activists signed a letter calling on the Venice Film Festival to disinvite Gadot from the event because of her ties to Israel. The festival’s director ignored the boycott efforts and Gadot was still invited, although she did not attend. Award-winning American filmmaker and artist Julian Schnabel, who cast Gadot in his film “In the Hand of Dante” that was premiering at the Venice Film Festival, also criticized the efforts by anti-Israel activists.

Gadot in March became the first Israeli to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti in May, the same week that London’s Metropolitan Police arrested five anti-Israel protesters who tried to disrupt her film set in central London solely because she is Israeli.

Gadot played the Evil Queen in last year’s live action remake of Disney’s “Snow White.” She admitted in August that she thinks “pressure on celebrities to speak out against Israel” was “greatly affecting” the film and contributed to its poor box office performance after its lead star, Rachel Zegler, proclaimed “Free Palestine” on social media.

Past recipients of the Genesis Prize include singer, actor, and activist Barbra Streisand; filmmaker Steven Spielberg; founder of Blue Square Alliance Against Hate and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; and human rights advocate Natan Sharansky.

The 2025 recipient of the Genesis Prize was Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who was recognized for his strong support of Israel. Milei visited Jerusalem in June to accept the award.

Barstool Sports founder and online pizza reviewer Dave Portnoy outside a Starkville, Mississippi pizza shop on Nov. 7, 2025. Photo: Screenshot

A Mississippi State University student was arrested on Monday and charged by police for shouting an antisemitic slur at Barstool Sports founder and online pizza reviewer Dave Portnoy during one of his reviews outside a restaurant in Starkville, Mississippi, officials said.

Patrick McClintock, 20, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace after being caught on video yelling “F–k the Jews” at Portnoy, who is Jewish, and then throwing coins at him outside a pizza shop on Nov. 7, according to the Starkville Police Department. The department launched an investigation following the incident last week and issued a warrant over the weekend. McClintock was processed and later released.