KIEV/PARIS (EJP)--- A 25-year-old Jewish man is in critical condition after being  brutally attacked by neo-Nazis on Saturday shortly after leaving the central synagogue in Kiev, the Jewish community reported.

According to Jewish community leaders, Aaron Alexander, a yeshiva student, was attacked by skinheads after the Second Passover Seder.

He was later found lying bloodied in the street suffering from serious head injuries and raced to the hospital. He was reported to have been unconscious and required the use of a respirator.

According to a member of the community, the neighborhood where the man was attacked "is not new to violence."

Police officials said that the investigation was "ongoing."

Around 150,000 Jews live in Ukraine.

European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor called on Ukrainian officials to do everything necessary to hunt down the suspected neo-Nazis.

"We are confident that the Ukrainian authorities will act swiftly against the perpetrators of this hate crime and will bring them to swift justice," Kantor said in a statement.

"This attempted murder by neo-Nazis in Kiev, just weeks after the Islamist murders in Toulouse, by groups who have nothing in common except for a visceral hatred of Jews, is phenomenon that European leaders have to stamp out now," the EJC leader said.

"We call on European leaders to act swiftly to strengthen legislation, bolster education and increase intelligence sharing to prevent what could become a tsunami of hate and violence against the Jews of Europe."