The return of antisemitic violence in Italy

“With the bodies of the Jews murdered in Manchester still warm, the Italian Left, from Schlein to Conte, including AVS and the country’s main trade union, still shows no compassion and continues to incite anti-Zionist and therefore antisemitic hatred. Despite the ceasefire and hopes for peace in Gaza, their language has not softened, in fact, it has become even more extreme. At this point, it seems clear that they are not interested in ending the war in Gaza, but only in rousing the crowds against the people of Israel, fully aware that this incitement leads to assaults and deaths, including among Italian citizens of Jewish faith. Just like in 1982, when CGIL bore part of the responsibility for the climate that led to the attack on the Rome synagogue.

As the Jewish Community of Milan, we are issuing a final warning: from now on, you will be held jointly responsible and complicit in any attack against Italian Jews. You have crossed every threshold of tolerance. As we return to pray for peace, we say this one last time: enough hatred. Enough antisemitism.”

This statement from Walker Meghnagi, President of the Jewish Community of Milan, comes after several days marked by an uncontrollable escalation of protests, blockades, and violence that have nothing to do with peace. According to official data from the Ministry of the Interior, at least 96 law enforcement officers were injured between October 2 and 4 across Italy: 55 between the 2nd and 3rd, and another 41 on the 4th alone in Rome, where the pro-Gaza march spiraled into violent urban clashes. Police unions like Coisp report as many as 126 injured in just three days.

But another alarming fact stands out: minors were involved in several protests, including elementary and middle school students. In cities like Florence, for instance, organized groups were seen, accompanied by adults leading chants like the notorious “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” A slogan which, as is well known, denies Israel’s very existence and is unmistakably antisemitic in its implications.

Rome, Saturday 4 October 2025

In Rome, the “Free Palestine” demonstration quickly turned violent: Molotov cocktails, cars set on fire, shop windows smashed, and clashes with police. Among the chants, banners were displayed reading “October 7 – Palestinian Resistance Day”, flags glorifying the death of Israeli soldiers (“Death to the IDF”), and signs calling for a boycott of Israel.

A report published by Il Riformista includes this telling passage:

“We photographed demonstrators holding signs that read: ‘If violence prevails, we will know how to respond.’ These weren’t black bloc activists — they were part of the same crowd that Schlein calls ‘a sea of peaceful protest’. Blindness? No. Complicity. The benevolence with which CGIL, the Democratic Party, the 5 Star Movement and AVS have welcomed and shielded thugs, vandals, and antisemites is inexcusable. Today, Rome burns also because of their hypocrisy.”

“As we write, the unrest continues: masked demonstrators are heading toward Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, attempting to reach Porta Maggiore — from which it’s easy to vanish into neighborhoods like San Lorenzo or Pigneto, grey zones where legality blurs into illegality, and where what some call ‘democratic’ is anything but.”

Hard words, but impossible to ignore.

Just a few meters away, the statue of John Paul II in front of Termini Station was defaced with the words “fascist piece of s…” and a hammer and sickle symbol. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the act “an indecent outrage committed by individuals blinded by ideology.”

Protests in Milan and Turin

In Milan, tensions erupted on Thursday 2 October, coinciding with the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla by the Israeli Navy, precisely as the Jewish community was concluding Yom Kippur. Near Palestro station, demonstrators dragged trash bins and bicycles into the street to block traffic. Families leaving synagogues found themselves walking alongside these improvised barricades, in a hostile atmosphere.

The following day, Friday 3 October, during the general strike, a march moved from Porta Venezia toward the Polytechnic University, with blockades and moments of high tension in the city, including the occupation of the eastern ring road near Lambrate, and police water cannons deployed on Corso Venezia to stop groups headed toward Piazza Duomo.

Later that evening, a march started from Piazzale Loreto, moving down Corso Buenos Aires. Again, in Corso Venezia, police used water cannons to disperse demonstrators. Fourteen people were reported to the authorities. MP Riccardo De Corato (Fratelli d’Italia) condemned the events:

“These protesters have no concept of democracy. They are violent individuals who exploit the Palestinian cause to show contempt for institutions, politics, and civil society. These pro-Hamas supporters and far-left squatters are the shame of Milan — and of all Italy.”

Also on Friday 3 October, Turin was rocked by unrest. After a protest that brought 100.000 people into the streets in support of Gaza and the Flotilla, a group of around 100 young people, mostly second-generation immigrants of North African origin (as reported by RaiNews), rampaged through Piazza Castello and Via Po, throwing bottles and stones at police, setting fire to dumpsters, breaking gates, and damaging cars.

Clashes continued near Porta Susa station, the Prefecture, and again in Piazza Castello, where makeshift barricades were built using chairs and tables from the setup for “Portici di Carta,” the major book festival scheduled for the next day.

Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani called them “bad teachers”, and in an interview with Corriere della Sera stated:

“This was a political strike, not one for labor rights.”
He emphasized that historic unions like CISL, UIL, UGL, and Conf-SAL had not joined in.
“What does blocking ports, airports, and highways have to do with Gaza?”

On X, Deputy PM Matteo Salvini expressed full support for law enforcement:

“Today in Rome: clashes, violence, smashed windows, masked thugs attacking police and carabinieri, bottles and fireworks thrown, cars in flames. These are not protesters or pacifists, they are criminals! THANK YOU to the men and women in uniform, we are always at your side.

Italian Jews observe all of this with a mix of dismay and clarity.
Those who chanted “From the river to the sea”, those who invoked October 7th as the foundational date of a new revolutionary myth, chose the wrong side of history.

From tomorrow, it will no longer be possible to pretend not to know.
Walker Meghnagi’s cry is not a political outburst, it is a necessary act.
In the name of those who hide their kippah under a cap, who conceal a Star of David necklace, who have to explain to their children, again this year, just like in 1982, that it’s better not to say at school that they’re Jewish.