Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Milan Demonstrators Protest ‘Anti-Semitic’ Far Right Wing Rally

ROME (JTA) – Hundreds of people took part in a counter-demonstration in central Milan to protest an ultra-rightwing rally held in another downtown location.

The two demonstrations Saturday took place about two miles apart, and no incidents were reported. Local media said the counter-demonstrators greatly outnumbered those at the far-right rally organized by the Forza Nuova movement.

The decision by Milan police authorities to allow the ultra-right rally had drawn protests from Jewish and other groups, and Milan’s mayor had unsuccessfully tried to block it. At that rally, Forza Nuova supporters, including skinheads, waved banners and shouted nationalistic, anti-immigrant and other slogans, including calls for a Europe that is “Christian, never Muslim.”

The counter-demonstration was organized by the National Association of Italian Partisans   and supported by other anti-fascist groups. Milan’s deputy mayor and other political figures took part.

Jewish activist Emanuele Fiano, the son of an Auschwitz survivor and a member of Parliament for the leftist Democratic Party, was quoted by local media as warning against racism fomented by extreme rightwing movements in Europe. “It is important that none of us remain silent about the resurgence of the ideologies that are present also in the Italian extreme right movements.” he said.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.