Hungarians rally to denounce anti-Semitic Jobbik Party, which called for creation of a list of Jews deemed ?security risks.? Image by getty images

The lights of the ancient Coliseum in Rome will be dimmed next week to protest anti-Semitic and racist acts and statements by Hungary’s far-right Jobbik Party.

The initiative, sponsored by Rome’s city government and the Rome Jewish community, will take place Jan. 27 on International Holocaust Memorial Day, and will be one of scores of events across Italy marking the day.

In a statement Wednesday announcing the initiative, Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno noted “acts of anti-Semitism that are spreading in a disturbing manner in Hungary, prompted by the extreme right-wing Jobbik Party.”

Antisemitism Notebook

Your weekly guide through the news and the noise of how rising antisemitism and disputes over how to address it are shaping American Jewish life.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“By turning off the lights of the Coliseum, the municipal government and the Jewish community of Rome want to condemn in a symbolic way xenophobic actions and ideologies, not only by the Hungarian extreme right but in all of Europe. It is our duty to protest against any form of incitement to hatred,” Alemanno said.

Rome Jewish community President Riccardo Pacifici said that in Hungary “the nightmare of anti-Semitism lives, with a leap backward into the past that recalls the 1930s. We, Italian and European citizens, can’t tolerate this.”

Holocaust Memorial Day is marked throughout Italy with a week of events including educational programs, conferences, exhibitions, lectures, concerts, performances, school events, publications, broadcasts and other activities.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount