Thousands of activists stage anti-Israel protest at Venice Film Festival

Thousands of anti-Israel activists protested on Saturday at the annual Venice Film Festival. The event was organized by Venice4Palestine, a group of international and Italian film professionals. Prior to the large protest, the group announced that it seeks to “break the silence on the systematic violence by the Israeli army and on the complicity of governments, just as the media attention will be focused on the Film Festival.”

The group articulated its aims in an open letter to the festival. 

“We – activists and workers in the film, media and news fields – believe that for once, the show must stop: We must interrupt the flow of indifference and open a path to awareness,” the group wrote. 

“In Venice, all the spotlight will be on the film world: We all have a duty to amplify the stories and voices of those who are being massacred,” the letter continued. 

The letter also accused the Jewish state of “murderous attacks on film directors and crews in the West Bank,” claiming that Israel had killed 250 “Palestinian media workers.” 

“We invite those who work in film to imagine, coordinate, and implement together, during the Festival, actions that give voice to criticism of pro-Zionist government policies: a dissent expressed through creativity, thanks to our artistic, communicative, and organizational skills,” the letter added. 

The Italian actress told the local paper Corriere that banning the Israeli actress Gal Gadot from the festival “is the minimum,” and claimed that it should not be seen as “discrimination.” 

“It’s the minimum to ask for those who publicly support genocide,” she claimed. 

Gal Gadot who is known worldwide for her role as Wonder Woman, has never supported “genocide” but has strongly backed the Jewish state’s right to defend itself against genocidal enemies such as Hamas, Hezbollah and their Iranian patron. 

Alberto Barbera, the head of the Venice Film Festival, confirmed that Gadot would not attend the festival as originally planned. 

Italy has been traditionally one of Israel’s strongest allies in the European Union on a governmental level. However, like in many Western countries, there has been a dramatic rise in anti-Israel and anti-Jewish incidents in Italy since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. 

Last month, the Rome-based newspaper Il Tempo uncovered strong links between the Hamas official Mohammed Hannoun and Italian politicians from the left-wing Democratic Party (PD) and the more extreme left-wing Five Star Movement (M5S) party. These individuals have reportedly played leading roles in the anti-Israel protests across Italy. 

Hannoun who resides in the Italian city Genoa, has been raising funds for Hamas terrorism activities by using various “humanitarian” organizations as fronts. 

The conservative Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has openly described herself as a friend of the Jewish state.

Meloni announced in July that Italy currently does not intend to recognize “State of Palestine.” 

“I am very much in favor of the State of Palestine, but I am not in favor of recognizing it prior to establishing it,” Meloni stated in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

“If something that doesn’t exist is recognized on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn’t,” she said, expressing support for a negotiated international two-state solution to the conflict. 

By contrast, France, the UK, Canada, Australia and Belgium have all announced an intention to recognize a “Palestinian state” at the United Nations session later this month.