Anti-Israel protesters clash with Italian police over Israeli stand at fair

Hundreds of anti-Israeli protestors attacked police in the northern city of Vicenza earlier this week, demonstrating against the inclusion of an Israeli stand in the Vincenzaoro Jewelry fair, one the largest in the world, The Jewish Chronicle reported on Tuesday.

During the clashes, the crowd attacked police officers, firing flares and smoke bombs.

The police responded by firing water cannons at the mob and pulling some of the protestors away from the scene.

As a consequence of the clashes, ten police officers were injured, the JC added.

Many of the protestors, hailing from the city's social centers, were carrying signs that read “Stop global war,” “Free Palestine,” and “Block Israel,” according to information published in La Repubblica earlier this week.

The demonstrators expressly disregarded the Police’s order to cease their march and breached the security cordon the police had positioned around the fair’s perimeter.

Later on in the day, an additional protest was organized by the Palestinian community in the city, with no major incidents reported, the Italian newspaper continued.

The violent brawl can be seen clearly in a video shared by The Jewish Chronicle editor Jake Wallis Simons on X.

Absolute state of this!Riots erupted in Italy over the presence of a *single Jewish stall* at a jewellery fair in Vicenza. Police fired water cannons after hundreds of protesters threw flares during clashes described by local officials as an “urban guerrilla war” and a “serious… pic.twitter.com/XEMjSiESOY

— Jake Wallis Simons (@JakeWSimons) January 23, 2024

Vicenza's mayor responds

Vicenza's mayor, Giacomo Possamai, addressed the incident on social media.

"There is no justification for the guerrilla scenes we saw this morning in Vicenza," he said.

Referring to Italy's fascist past, he stated, "The right to demonstrate is sacred and protected by the Constitution, but those who take to the streets with batons and cover their faces go against the legacy of our founding fathers who wrote that article following the darkest years in the history of our country."

He added that such behavior "does harm to the cause it claims to support: it is a contradiction in terms to ask for peace and a ceasefire by demonstrating with violence.

"Among other things, this has the effect of diverting attention even further from the merits of what is happening in Israel and Palestine," he concluded.