Israeli Pride Marchers Say They Were Attacked in Bologna Amid Antisemitic Tensions

Israeli participants at Bologna’s Pride march in Italy said they were violently attacked on Saturday after marching with Pride flags that included a Star of David. The group had joined several Iranian participants, mostly families and older adults, in a joint march meant to promote tolerance and acceptance. According to those present, the trouble began when the crowd identified them as Israelis and gathered around them shouting for them to leave.

One Israeli woman who lives in Bologna with her partner, Hagar Amgar, said people screamed that the marchers were “murderers” and shouted that they should “go back to the gas.” She said, “They shouted at us that we are murderers, all the children there were scared,” and described being pushed out by force. Another local Israeli, who is in an advanced stage of pregnancy, said she was shoved violently and that the experience was frightening.

Footage from the scene showed a Pride participant shouting harsh insults at people holding the Star of David flag, while a young woman carrying an Iranian flag shouted back, “Free Palestine from Hamas.” One witness told N12 she was standing with her wife, their son, and another family with baby strollers, filming the confrontation. “We are with children, proud families who came to march in an event founded to advance our rights, and we were attacked because we are Jews,” she said.

The Bologna incident comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents targeting Israelis and Jews across Italy in recent weeks. The most prominent case was the cancellation of the Jewish LGBT group Keshet from a planned Pride event in Rome after it refused to condemn Israel. Israeli tourists have also reported abusive emails from accommodations asking them to declare opposition to the Israeli government as a condition for staying, and one restaurant reportedly refused a customer after noticing a Star of David on her Instagram page.