Similar to the U.S. and several European countries, extreme demonstrations against Israel have become a common occurrence on university campuses in Italy since October 7. Italian-Jewish journalist Maurizio Molinari, editor of the major Italian newspaper La Repubblica, is encountering this reality firsthand.
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He visited the campus of the Federico II University in Naples over the weekend, intending to conduct an open dialogue about the Middle East situation. However, a tumultuous and aggressive protest organized by pro-Palestinian students yelling "Zionists out" resulted in the cancellation of his talk and a subsequent discussion with the students, partly due to the strain between them and the security personnel summoned to the scene.
Molinari, a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is recognized as one of Italy's most influential and senior journalists. He has authored numerous important books and articles on the Middle East and Israel, including a bestselling book on ISIS. Throughout the current conflict in the Gaza Strip, he has consistently expressed firm stances against antisemitism, offering support to Israel and opposing Hamas. This has elicited substantial resentment against him, even to the point of threats. His eviction from the Naples university on Friday morning caused a significant uproar in the country, predominantly in the media, and was met with widespread disapproval
Italy's president, Sergio Mattarella, reached out to Molinari to display his solidarity and voice his disapproval of the intolerance displayed, emphasizing that "universities should not be a venue where one viewpoint is imposed and the airing of alternative perspectives is hindered." He went further to publicize an official statement echoing these sentiments. Despite the interruption of his lecture, Molinari persisted in his efforts to engage with the protesters, expressing his readiness to convene a meeting with the dissenting students "to hear their thoughts on the Middle East conflict." Such a meeting has not been arranged to date.
Last week, Jewish journalist David Parenzo faced threats from students as he attempted to host an open dialogue at the La Sapienza University in Rome.
Meanwhile, calls from left-leaning students to cut all academic connections with Israel and its advocates are escalating across numerous Italian campuses.
"We wanted to convey to editor Molinari that 30,000 people were killed by Israel in Palestine, and we don't understand how he and the rector can discuss Middle Eastern matters while a genocide is concurrently unfolding. We demand all academic links between our universities and Israel be severed," stated the students who disrupted the Naples event.
The Naples incident drew condemnation from Italian politicians across the entire political spectrum. Elena Ethel "Elly" Schlein, the leader of the Italian Left who is of Jewish descent, contacted Molinari to express solidarity. The Jewish community in Italy is increasingly worried due to the rise in antisemitic incidents and hostility toward Israel in the country's streets, campuses and cultural sphere. "If antisemitism prevails, it will be a defeat for all of us," community representatives informed the Italian news agency ANSA.
Parenzo, who himself became a focal point of the protest, tweeted: "Molinari was barred from speaking at the university because he is Jewish and because he is accused of being a Zionist! As if being a Zionist is a crime. It's insane."
Anti-Israeli incidents have risen in the land of Leonardo da Vinci, including in the world famous San Remo festival, where multiple artists used the platform to spread hatred. During last week's International Woman's Day, a woman was expelled during an event in Florence (Firenze) for "daring" to ask for condemnation of Hamas.