Two young Jewish Argentine tourists wearing kippahs were attacked outside a Milan supermarket Sunday night and one of them suffered a broken nose, Italian dailies reported Tuesday.
First they were insulted, being called ‘sh**ty Jews, then attacked with punches to the face, according to Corriere della Sera, Repubblica, Il Giorno, and Libero.
The latter paper said the anti-Semitic attack was divulged by the president of Milan’s Jewish community, Walker Meghnagi.
The Carabinieri of the Porta Genova station and the Provincial Command’s Information Unit are now investigating.
The incident occurred shortly after 10:30 PM on Sunday outside the Carrefour store in Piazzale Siena, a 24-hour supermarket.
The two young Argentine Jewish tourists had just finished shopping when, shortly after leaving, they were surrounded by a group of about ten young men of North African origin, the dailies said.
According to initial investigations, it was a chance encounter.
The two tourists were wearing traditional kippahs and were therefore targeted.
First came the anti-Semitic insults, and then the physical assault.
One of the two, a 19-year-old, tried to fight back and was punched in the face at least once.
An ambulance and Carabinieri from the Radiomobile unit then intervened.
Searches in the area, near the Jewish quarter of Via Bartolomeo d’Alviano and Viale San Gimignano, were unsuccessful in finding the perpetrators.
The 19-year-old was taken to San Carlo Hospital, where he was later discharged with a diagnosis of a fractured nasal septum.
The investigation is based on local CCTV footage acquired by investigators, as well as analysis of cell towers covering the streets around Piazzale Siena. The two tourists left for Argentina on Monday.
The attack was widely condemned as unacceptable anti-Semitism by Italian political parties Tuesday.
The right-wing League party said “the Left should not underestimate” the incident amid rising anti-Semitism it said was being fomented by pro-Palestinian elements close to the Left.