Wiesenthal Centre Participates in Rome Rally "No Antisemitism, No Terrorism"

December 6, 2023

Rome hosted a rally "No Antisemitism, No Terrorism" in central Piazza del Popolo, organized by the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) and the Jewish Community of Rome.
 
Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, noted the wide consensus of Italian institutions and public opinion... "The rally celebrated Israel, the Jews and Judaism, the right to exist, to defend the People and the State, the dignity of women, children, elderly, kidnapped or killed... victims of the heinous terror attack by Hamas on 7 October."
 
Placards read, among others, "This is what a Peaceful Rally Looks Like" (a reference to masked pro-Palestinian rioters worldwide), "Jewish Women Lives Matter" (a clear message to fringe feminists' denial of the massive rape and murder of Israeli women and girls on 7/10) and "Free all Israeli hostages" with photos of the kidnapped.

Flags colouring the evening; the testimony of a 7 October victim's brother; friends of the Wiesenthal Centre

Speeches included messages from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and from Holocaust survivor, Senator Liliana Segre.
 
Both members of the Centre-right Government majority and Centre-left opposition spoke from the podium, including the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, of Justice, of Education, several MPs and the Mayor of Rome.
 
The Israeli actress Moran Atias read out the names of all hostages who remain, to date, still in the hands of Hamas. The brother of 7/10 victim Tom Godo, delivered a harrowing testimony. All participants had seen the horrors and brutality of the 7 October assault, through posts online as well as the confessions of captured terrorists.

Heartfelt speeches echoed across the square, in solidarity with the Italian Jewish community and the people of Israel, in the context of raging denial, moral equivalence, spurious accusations against the Jewish State and the surge of antisemitic incidents worldwide.
 
The rally also focused on threats posed by the allies of Hamas, such as Iran's Ayatollah regime, or Hezbollah in Lebanon... and many mentioned the deafening silence from UN bodies, from major NGOs such as Amnesty International, from women's rights organizations.and cowardly universities.

Flags of Israel, Italy, the EU, the LGBTQ+ community and other minorities rippled over the crowd. The rally ended with the national anthems of Italy and of Israel.

For further information contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at csweurope@gmail.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter/X feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).