A university debate on Middle East peace turned erupted on Monday when one of Italy’s most prominent Jewish politicians was disrupted by anti-Israel protesters.
Emanuele Fiano, whose father survived Auschwitz and who spent his career battling antisemitism and political extremism before leaving parliament in 2022, had been invited to speak at Venice’s Ca’ Foscari University as part of a student-led debate on the two-state solution.
In the days leading up to the event, the Fronte Gioventù Comunista (Communist Youth Front) announced plans for a protest “against Zionists in the university,” prompting organizers to move the meeting to a smaller venue. But that didn’t stop the Hamas supporters from disrupting Fiano’s speech.
Viral video shows Fiano being shouted down with chants of “Fuori i sionisti dall’università” (“Out with the Zionists from the university”) as protesters waved anti-Zionist banners. Organizers attempted to let one demonstrator read a statement in hopes of defusing the situation, but the shouting continued until campus security closed the venue and ended the discussion.
“I tried in every way to continue, but they kept talking over me and spreading lies,” Fiano told Sky TG24. “The fascist principle they have in mind is that anyone who doesn’t share their views shouldn’t speak.”
Messages of support immediately poured in from across Italy’s political spectrum. Democratic Party leaders Piero Fassino, Simona Malpezzi, and Beppe Provenzano denounced the incident as “an attack on democratic values,” while centrist Carlo Calenda and League senator Gianmarco Centinaio also expressed solidarity.
Higher Education Minister Anna Maria Bernini personally phoned Fiano to offer support and invited him to return to Ca’ Foscari with her to resume the interrupted debate.
“Debate is the lifeblood of every free community. Silencing someone means extinguishing a part of the freedom that belongs to everyone,” Bernini wrote on X. “The job of all institutions is to defend together freedom of speech and thought against every form of violence and oppression.”
