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With the involvement of the Israeli Embassy in Italy and the local Jewish community, events planned to launch the book by slain terrorist mastermind Yahya Sinwar, titled "The Thorns and the Carnation," (or "Le Spine E Il Garofano" it Italian) at a prestigious university were successfully prevented. The drama unfolded at La Sapienza University, Europe's largest public university situated in the heart of Rome. The event was organized by a pro-Palestinian student movement, led by a former Israeli Arab citizen named Maya Issa. The event was intended to launch Sinwar's book in Italian.
Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre and responsible for the abduction and murder of numerous Israelis, was killed in October 2024 by IDF soldiers in an operation in southern Gaza after a year-long manhunt.
The original plan was to hold the event in the Department of Physics, where organizers seemingly had connections. However, following efforts by the Israeli Embassy in Rome, in coordination with university contacts and senior officials, the Department of Physics withdrew its approval to host the event. As a result, the group attempted to relocate the event to another venue within the university, this time to the Department of Humanities. Once again, the embassy acted swiftly, and after its intervention with university management this attempt was also thwarted.
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The university subsequently issued a statement on social media clarifying that the event was prohibited from taking place. Following these developments, the student movement released a statement titled "The Zionist Censorship," detailing their attempts to hold the event and the obstacles they encountered. The statement criticized the collaboration between the university, "Zionists," and the Jewish community, while emphasizing their intention to find an alternative venue for the event in the coming days.
The decision to cancel the event received attention in the local media, particularly in right-leaning publications. Meanwhile, the Jewish community's youth group released a press statement urging that Hamas propaganda not be allowed to find a platform.
Israel's ambassador to Italy, Yonathan Peled, responded: "This is crossing a red line. We are pleased that reason triumphed over madness and that our efforts bore fruit, leading to the cancellation of these events."