Italy Deports Two Suspects in Attack on Milan Chabad Shliach
by CrownHeights.info
Italy has deported two foreign nationals suspected of taking part in the antisemitic assault on Rabbi Tzemach Mizrahi, a longtime Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Milan, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi announced the deportations, saying the two men had been returned to their countries of origin and declaring that there is no place in Italy for hatred and violence and that antisemitic acts will not be tolerated.
The attack took place on September 16 at a bus stop in Piazzale Bande Nere in western Milan, near the city’s Jewish community. Rabbi Mizrahi, 51, was waiting for a bus on his way to pick up his children from school when three young men approached him.
According to the rabbi’s account, the men surrounded him, taunted him in Arabic and grabbed his traditional black hat. One of them put the hat on and mocked him. When Rabbi Mizrahi began recording the encounter on his phone, one of the men kicked him from behind, knocking him off the sidewalk and into the street.
Despite the attack, Rabbi Mizrahi did not require medical treatment. He spent several hours providing a statement to police, while footage and photographs he had managed to capture helped authorities identify the suspects.
The three suspects were subsequently identified as young men of Tunisian and Moroccan background. One of them, 21-year-old Tunisian national Battar Zahani, has been deported to Tunisia. The second deported suspect, a Moroccan national whose name was not released, was also returned to his country. A third suspect, Zahani’s 20-year-old brother, Ilyes Zahani, remains in Italy under restrictive conditions and is awaiting trial.
Walker Meghnagi, president of the Jewish Community of Milan, welcomed the deportations, calling them “wonderful news” and expressing hope that Italy would take similar action in future cases of violence against Jews.
For Chabad-Lubavitch, the incident highlights the unique role played by Shluchim around the world. Rabbi Mizrahi has served the Jewish community in Milan for decades, maintaining a visible Jewish presence and providing Torah, tefillah and communal services through Chabad.
Chabad institutions in Milan include the Central Chabad House and the Chabad yeshivah on Via Soderini, where Rabbi Mizrahi has been involved in serving the local Jewish population. Community directories have also long listed him as a rabbi serving the city’s Jewish community.
Following the attack, Rabbi Mizrahi made clear that he would not respond by hiding his Jewish identity. He said he would continue wearing his rabbinic clothing and would not stop openly identifying as a Jew, although he acknowledged that the incident had raised concerns about allowing his children to walk the streets alone.
The attack and subsequent deportations come amid heightened concern over antisemitism in Italy and across Europe. For the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, however, the response remains one of continued Jewish life and public Jewish presence: Shluchim continue their work in cities around the world, even amid an increasingly challenging security environment.
