Italian Jews Concerned About Pro-Palestine March In Rome

By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

ROME/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – The Italian Union of Jewish Communities (UCEI) has expressed concern about Saturday’s massive march in Rome, organized to protest against the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza amid Israel’s war against Hamas.

Some 50,000 people were due to participate in the march, according to organizers. However, “We are concerned about the choice to defend only one people, the Palestinian people, and not the Israeli people too, with one flag and not two,” said UCEI President Noemi Di Segni in published remarks.

“Although we understand the spirit that drives the organizers, we express strong concern and feel it is our duty to point out the shortcomings and inconsistencies,” he added in remarks published by Italy’s National Associated Press Agency (ANSA).

“Nonetheless, we remain convinced that the ‘two peoples and two states’ option is still the goal we are morally obliged to achieve,” the ICEI leader stressed.

“Hence the appeal to always show both flags, never just one.”

There was no sign of that happening ahead of Saturday’s rally, when protesters dyed Rome’s iconic Acqua Paola fountain, known locally as “Fontanone,” red.

Protesters entered the site, which featured in the opening scene of the Oscar-winning film The Great Beauty, holding banners calling for an end to the violence in Gaza.

‘BLOOD BATH’

Messages included “Stop the blood bath in Gaza” and “Stop Genocide”, urging an end to military trade deals and demanding immediate humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.

Israel has strongly denied that it carries out genocide, saying Hamas fighters are using civilians as human shields. The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 others.

The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry says that more than 54,000 people have died since the war broke out, without differentiating between combatants and civilians. Israel has given somewhat lower estimates and says about 20,000 Hamas fighters are among the dead.

The war in Gaza has also been linked to growing incidents of antisemitism in Italy and other countries.

Italy’s national coordinator for the fight against antisemitism has pledged to tackle hatred toward Jews after a report showed documented expressions of antisemitic hatred rose from 455 in 2023 to 877 last year.

The annual report by the Antisemitism Observatory of the Contemporary Jewish Documentation Center Foundation, a Jewish community watchdog, said the increase was “unprecedented” in Italy’s post-World War II history.

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