Milan Demonstrators Protest ‘Anti-Semitic’ Far Right Wing Rally
Image by Facebook
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.
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.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
