Ultra-Orthodox Jew Stabbed in Milan
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
A Jewish man was stabbed multiple times outside a kosher pizzeria in Italy, in what the World Jewish Congress said is believed to have been a targeted attack.
Natan Graf, the son-in-law of Chabad-Lubavitch emissary Rabbi Levi Hezkia, sustained serious injuries, including to his face, in the attack Thursday night. Graf, who is in his 40s, was treated in hospital and is not in danger, Moshe Shaikevitz, director of Beit Chabad-Milan Jewish Center, said in an interview for the Chabad official website.
The attack happened at 8:20 p.m. local time outside the Carmel Kosher Pizzeria in the heart of Milan’s Jewish neighborhood. The assailant fled the scene. Police do not have a suspect in custody
According to Shaikevitz, a number of young Israeli students standing not far from the scene heard the victim’s screams and came to his aid while the assailant fled with a waiting accomplice. The attacker, whose face was covered during the attack, has not yet been apprehended.
“That is the most serious event that ever happened in our Community,” the president of Jewish Community of Milan, Raffaele Besso, said after the attack.
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said in a statement Friday: “Violent attacks against innocent civilians are to be abhorred, regardless of their motive. If this indeed was a deliberate and malicious targeting of a man because he is identifiably Jewish, it is imperative that Italian authorities treat this incident with utmost severity.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
