Italian Women Object to Monument to Fascist
A new Italian women’s group has added its voice to protests over a publicly funded monument honoring the World War II-era fascist leader Rodolfo Graziani.
The leadership of Binah, an all-women Jewish party represented on the board of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, recently urged Italian Jewish leaders to take urgent measures against what it called a “shame on Italian soil” and also take a firm stance against other perceived episodes of anti-Semitism in Italy.
The monument, a mausoleum and park dedicated to Graziani, a former defense minister in the fascist Italian Social Republic of Salo, was inaugurated in August in the town of Affile, near Rome. According to news reports it was financed by about $150,000 of regional and local public funding.
The monument triggered widespread controversy and sparked protests, including a demonstration two weeks ago that drew hundreds of protesters.
The National Partisans Association announced last week that it would sue the Affile mayor for an “apology for fascism” and related crimes.
Graziani signed the 1938 fascist racial laws against Jews. He also took part in massacres of anti-fascist partisans and was responsible for the brutal executions and killings of thousands in Africa.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
