The recent violence in Bologna, during a protest originally organised in memory of Ramy Elgaml, has sparked a national debate on street violence, pro-Palestinian movements and anti-Semitism.
According to Antonio Sbordone, the police commissioner of Bologna, the rally was not explicitly anti-Semitic or anti-Israeli in origin, but degenerated into targeted hooliganism against the police. “It is inappropriate to speak of a demonstration. It was more like spontaneous acts of hooliganism,” he told Pagine Ebraiche. Looking at the footage, Sbordone tends to rule out a premeditated intention to attack the synagogue. However, in Via de’ Gombruti, where the offices of the Jewish community are located, there have been incidents of vandalism, with paper bombs exploding and walls daubed with writings such as ‘Justice for Free Gaza’. “The climate is not good,” added Sbordone, highlighting the rising tensions ahead of the 27 January initiatives.
For Gadi Luzzatto Voghera, director of the Cdec Foundation, one of the keys to understanding the violence in Bologna is the misuse of symbols such as the Palestinian flag, which in Bologna was used by demonstrators to commit acts of violence. “The protests with poor Ramy had nothing to do with this. Just as Palestinian flags and slogans about Gaza had nothing to do with it” and are used as a pretext “to commit violence, beat up the police and harm the Jewish community”. Luzzatto Voghera criticised the Bologna city council for flying the Palestinian flag in front of the city hall in recent months, calling the decision “very imprudent”. “When a flag, whatever it is, becomes a symbol not of legitimate national claims but of violence, it must not be used.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"