Since October 7, many Italian universities have seen “dialogue ceases to be possible” due to “a minority of students who act with violence” and create “a trail of damage.”
This complaint comes from Pietro Balzano, a Milanese student and author of a National Manifesto for the Right to Education, which responds to “the ideology used as an excuse for acts of vandalism” by propaganda groups that have been active in universities for over a year.
The manifesto was presented to the Senate during a press conference attended by representatives from political parties, student groups, and the Union of Young Jews of Italy.
Luca Spizzichino, president of UGEI, commented that since October 7, Jewish and Israeli students “have had their lives turned upside down” by these groups and instances of censorship “that have denied some the ability to express their thoughts, stifling the open and constructive debate that should be at the heart of academic life.” According to Spizzichino, driven by such intimidation, “universities are turning into spaces of exclusion and intolerance,” where “antisemitism disguised as anti-Zionism” is at play. However, he expressed optimism that politics “is starting to recognise the gravity of the situation.”
The meeting was organised by Senator Marco Scurria, who also serves as the president of the Transatlantic Friends of Israel. “The hate campaign is unacceptable, and we cannot allow it to pass, or we would be undermining the very foundations of our civilisation,” he stated. “We are ready to bring these issues to the faculties.”
