Protesters spray-painted “Justice Free Gaza” in red on a synagogue wall in Bologna, Italy on Saturday night following demonstrations sparked by the death of an Italian-Egyptian man during a police chase on Nov. 23, 2024.
Demonstrations took place in several cities, including Rome, Milan, Brescia and Bologna, in memory of Ramy Elgaml, 19, who was riding on the back of a moped driven by his friend Fares Bouzidi during a 5-mile long police pursuit.
Bouzidi, 22, of Tunisian descent, failed to stop at a police roadblock and crashed into a pole with a police car in pursuit, killing Elgaml. Bouzidi, who was arrested for complicity in homicide, claimed the police car touched the moped.
Video of part of the November chase was released a few days ago. It prompted the protests, which were organized by the Italian Anti-Racist Coordination and joined by student groups and other associations, Euro News reported.
The report noted that it was not clear from the video if the police car had bumped the moped.
In Bologna, demonstrators stormed the local synagogue. Along with the “free Gaza” graffiti they wrote Elgaml’s name.
Israeli Ambassador to Italy Jonathan Peled decried the graffiti as a “serious antisemitic attack.”
“I express my closeness and solidarity to the Jewish community of Bologna, following the attacks committed against the local Synagogue. A serious anti-Semitic attack, which must be condemned with absolute firmness,” he tweeted.
Daniele De Paz, president of the Jewish community of Bologna, said the municipality shared the blame for the vandalism, as it had displayed the Palestinian flag at City Hall, giving backing to those seeking to attack the Jewish community.
“Mayor Matteo Lepore must remove that flag as a matter of public safety. Words of solidarity are not enough. It is a position that Bologna cannot afford. It is a huge problem that must be overcome because the level of tension is too high,” said De Paz, according to Rai News 24.
The Jewish community criticized the flying of the Palestinian flag at city hall in June. The mayor’s decision was “not a gesture of peace” in a climate of increasing violence, De Paz said at the time.
Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni on Sunday condemned the rioting in Rome.
“Between firecrackers, smoke bombs and assaults, yesterday evening in Rome we witnessed yet another despicable episode of disorder and chaos by the usual troublemakers who took to the streets not to demonstrate for a cause, but out of pure vengeance,” she tweeted.
“It’s not possible to use a tragedy to legitimize violence. Our solidarity goes to the police, together with well wishes to the officers who were wounded. We are on your side,” she added.
Several police officers were injured in Bologna and Rome amid the protests.