More than one million people took to the streets of Rome in support of Palestine on Saturday. On the same day, hundreds of thousands of Italians across the country occupied train stations and schools in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
The scale of the protests and the intensity of the debate in Italy have made it a unique case compared to other countries, sparking one of the largest pro-Palestine mobilisations in Europe, if not the world.
“We did not expect such a large mobilisation,” Dalia Ismail, an Italian-Palestinian journalist, told The New Arab.
“Since the Flotilla set sail from Genoa on 30 August, with over 50,000 people supporting the dockworkers, and after the famous speech by port worker Riccardo Rudino - where he said, ‘We will block all of Europe’ - it became clear that public awareness and concern for Palestine had grown significantly.”
Donatella Della Porta, an academic at the Scuola Normale Superiore, echoed similar sentiments. “‘The Flotilla was the spark that ignited the flame,’” she said in an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano.
Momentum had been growing before it departed from Genoa, with the city’s mayor, Silvia Salis, attending the event and Archbishop Marco Tasca ordering that the boats be blessed. Mainstream media broadcast the flotilla’s departure for over two hours.
“The Flotilla has become a global symbol and has shown everyone that something can be done,” Della Porta added. The slogan ‘If they stop the Flotilla, we’ll stop everything’ resonated with everyone, she noted.
Italy-Palestine relations
Italy’s engagement with Palestine has long been a defining feature of its modern left. In 1947, during the UN Assembly, Italy voted in favour - alongside the US and the Soviet Union - of the creation of Israel.
Until 1967, the Italian Communist Party (PCI), the largest communist movement in Western Europe, supported Israel, following the Soviet Union’s lead. But after the Six-Day War, attitudes shifted dramatically.
In 1969, Giorgio Napolitano, a prominent communist leader who would later become President of Italy, declared: “We support the right of the Palestinian people to exist and to organise themselves as an autonomous political entity, in their own state alongside Israel.”
For Ismail, the current wave of mobilisation reflects this deep historical connection. “The Palestinian issue has a very long history, passed down from generation to generation, and Italy has a strong tradition of supporting Palestine - probably something inherited from the 1970s,” she explained to The New Arab.
At that time, the position of the PCI stood in stark contrast to that of the ruling Democrazia Cristiana (Christian Democracy), which backed Israel. The division became even clearer in 1974, when the PCI recognised the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the official representative of the Palestinian people.
In the 1980s, the Italian left took an even more radical stance, particularly in response to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. In 1982, L’Unità, the PCI’s main newspaper, wrote: “The Israeli aggression in Beirut is a crime against peace. Today, solidarity goes to the Palestinian people under the bombs, who are resisting for their survival and national dignity.”
The Palestinian cause reached its high point of recognition under Bettino Craxi, the two-time Prime Minister and leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). On 6 November 1985, during a parliamentary session, Craxi declared: “The Palestinian armed struggle is legitimate.”
His words sparked a national uproar - with the left taking to the streets in support, and the right accusing him of legitimising terrorism.
A mirror of Italian struggles
Today, Italy’s solidarity with Palestine seems to have blended with broader domestic struggles - against precarious work opportunities, exploitation, and the neoliberal management of universities.
A striking example comes from Genoa, where for the past five years the autonomous dockworkers’ collective CALP-USB, which spearheaded the Flotilla strike, has been mobilising against the arms trade in a city whose neoliberal economy has further eroded labour conditions.
“Since October 2023, we’ve seen a growing wave of mobilisation - spreading through major cities and small towns alike, even tourist centres,” Della Porta observed. “It has taken root in universities, hospitals, workplaces, and ports.”
In her view, the Palestinian cause has fused with many other struggles not directly linked to Palestinian freedom, becoming a symbol of resistance to broader social injustices.
At this point, “the dichotomy between right and left no longer captures the full picture,” Lorenzo Kamel, a professor of history at the University of Turin, told The New Arab.
“Part of Giorgia Meloni’s electorate has always cared deeply about the Palestinian cause and is dissatisfied with the staunch support she has given to Israeli authorities since becoming Prime Minister,” he added.
“Ten years ago, when Meloni signed a parliamentary motion urging the Renzi government to recognise the Palestinian state and condemn the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, she was far bolder and more assertive on these issues.”
He added that the strength of trade unions also plays a role. “CGIL, CISL, and UIL - the main unions - are still relatively powerful,” Kamel said.
“Moreover, most Italians are not satisfied with simplistic narratives - often pushed by commentators lacking real expertise - that appeal only to emotion. Many feel what we might call a ‘Mediterranean connection’: Gaza doesn’t feel far away.”
What future for Meloni?
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is now facing mounting criticism for her recent remarks about the Flotilla. “I continue to believe,” she stated, “that all of this brings no benefit to the Palestinian people. On the contrary, it seems to me that it will cause many inconveniences to the Italian people.”
When unions declared a general strike for Palestine, scheduled for a Friday, Meloni mocked the initiative, saying: “Weekend and revolution don’t go together,” implying that the strike was merely an excuse for workers to take a long weekend.
Earlier this week, during a televised interview, Meloni revealed that she and two of her ministers were the subjects of a complaint filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) by Global Movement to Gaza Italia.
“What’s worrying,” said Tommaso Montanari, Rector of the University for Foreigners of Siena, speaking to The New Arab, “is that if the complaints filed with the ICC against Meloni for complicity in genocide move forward, the problem for Italy will be enormous - and so will the shame.”
Shady Hamadi is an Italian-Syrian writer and the author of a trilogy exploring Syrian history and his family, all published in Italian. He is also a regular columnist for Ilfattoquotidiano.it.
Follow him on X: @HamadiShady