Israeli Pride Marchers Attacked in Bologna Amid Rising Antisemitism in Italy

Israeli participants in Bologna’s Pride parade were attacked after marching with Pride flags that also featured a Star of David, according to people at the scene. The incident happened on Saturday in the Italian city, where some Israelis had joined with Iranian participants, mostly families and older adults, to march together.

Witnesses said the crowd noticed the Star of David and surrounded them, shouting through a megaphone for them to leave. When the Israelis did not respond, they were pushed out by force. One Israeli woman living in Bologna with her partner, Hagar Amgar, said, "They shouted that we should go back to the gas chambers, and literally threw us out with blows." She added, "They screamed that we are murderers, all the children there were scared."

Another local Israeli, who is in an advanced stage of pregnancy, said she was also shoved. She told N12 that she had come to support Israeli queer families in Bologna, but people began pushing marchers around them and shouting that they were murderers and should be removed. When one person tried to push her and was told she was pregnant, he replied, "If she is pregnant, then she should not push herself in here." She described the scene as frightening.

Video from the parade showed one participant shouting abuse at people holding the Star of David flag, while a young woman with an Iranian flag responded, "Free Palestine from Hamas." The attack came amid what Israelis and Jews in Italy have described as a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents in recent weeks, including the cancellation of the Jewish LGBTQ group Keshet from a planned Rome Pride event after it refused to condemn Israel. Israeli tourists have also reported hostile emails from accommodation providers asking them to declare opposition to the Israeli government, and one restaurant allegedly refused service after spotting a Star of David on a customer’s Instagram page.