There is anger in Italy after two murals depicting Anne Frank and the “Boy from the Warsaw Ghetto” meant to denounce anti-Semitism were vandalized within 24 hours of being painted on the streets of Milan with pro-Palestinian messages.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini joined widespread condemnation of the vandalism of the murals, saying Italians “must stand together against hatred.”
A mural in Milan’s central Piazza Castello depicting Holocaust victim Anne Frank weeping with the Israeli flag has been painted over with the words “GAZA FREE.”
The original mural depicted a Palestinian girl in a traditional keffiyeh burning the flag of the terrorist group Hamas next to Anne Frank, but this was not destroyed.
A mural in Milan’s central Piazza Castello depicting Holocaust victim Anne Frank weeping with the Israeli flag has been painted over with the words “GAZA FREE.”
The Anne Frank mural to combat anti-Semitism in Milan before it was defaced
Vandals defaced a mural depicting a “Warsaw Ghetto Boy” held captive by Hamas by completely erasing the image of the Jewish child
The Milan mural depicts the famous “Boy from the Warsaw Ghetto” wearing the yellow Star of David badge that Nazis forced Jews to wear before it was defaced
The second mural that appeared in the area of the Porta Nuova project in Milan was also defaced.
This image showed the famous “Boy from the Warsaw Ghetto” wearing the yellow Star of David badge that the Nazis forced Jews to wear.
His hands are raised as he is held hostage by Hamas terrorists who point assault rifles at him, a reference to the real-life photo from the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, which shows a boy taken by Nazi SS soldier Josef BLösche a submachine gun is pointed at him.
After vandals defaced the mural, the child turned completely white, but the Hamas terrorist and the little Gaza soldier at his side remained unharmed.
Artist aleXsandro Palombo’s street art series entitled “Innocence, Hatred and Hope” was released a month after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel in Milan.
He painted several murals throughout Milan, which he said were “a warning about the wave of anti-Semitism overwhelming Jews around the world.”
These included the central Piazza Castello, where demonstrations by the Jewish community have taken place in recent weeks, and in the area of the new Porta Nuova project, which was acquired by the sovereign wealth fund of the Emirate of Qatar.
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said it was a “shame” that the murals had been defaced.
“Such actions have no place in our society.” “We must act together against hatred,” he said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Artist Palombo told The Jewish Chronicle: “The gesture of these anti-Semitic racists is to erase memory to enforce their terrorist thoughts, but these cowardly actions do not deter me and I will continue to defend the freedom of expression of our democracy.” With my art I will respond to the terror they want to drag us into.
“However, this vandalism only underlines the importance of the works and forces us to respond even more strongly because it highlights the full anger and social danger of this hateful anti-Semitic machine at work.”
The “Boy from the Warsaw Ghetto” mural is a reference to this photo from the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, which shows a boy having a submachine gun pointed at him by Nazi SS soldier Josef BLösche
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini (pictured) joined widespread condemnation of the anti-Semitic vandalism of the murals, saying Italians “must stand together against hate”.
He added: “These acts of vandalism are demonstrations of terrorist thinking that undermines the freedom of all of us.” If politics and institutions do not react forcefully to anti-Semitic violence, we will all lose: legitimizing these gestures also means legitimizing terrorist thinking in our society to legitimize. And that is what Hamas propaganda wants.
“The anti-Semitic rage unleashed by Hamas is overwhelming Jews in every corner of the world. This horror resurfacing from the past must give us all pause because it undermines the freedom, security and future of us all.”
Israeli art historian Batya Brutin, who received the Yad Vashem Prize for lifetime achievement in Holocaust education, said: “Palombo’s current murals in street art are an important warning message to the world.”
Ms Brutin added that the vandals’ motivations “remain unclear” and that “the importance of combating anti-Semitism and hatred wherever they exist” must be remembered.
“While the vandals’ motivations remain unclear, we must remember the importance of confronting anti-Semitism and hatred wherever they exist.”
This is the latest incident in a recent wave of anti-Semitic vandalism in Italy. On November 2, a Star of David appeared on a building in Rome and four golden cobblestones, “stumbling blocks” commemorating murdered Jews, were destroyed.