In Milan, a swastika drawn in red paint, accompanied by a Star of David and an equal sign, appeared on the sidewalk in front of director Ruggero Gabbai’s studio near Via Vincenzo Foppa. The director, known for his documentary “Liliana,” about Senator for Life Segre and other works dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust, reported the intimidating act to the DIGOS (Italian Special Operations Unit).
“I just reported a very serious incident to the Italian Special Operations Division (DIGOS): threatening graffiti in front of the windows of my studio,” Gabbai wrote on social media. “Surely someone familiar with our filmmaking and our filmography, which focuses on the tragedy of the Holocaust, the Mafia, and respect for rights, legality, and minorities, wanted to send a clear message in its violence and vulgarity.” The director then reiterated: “We will continue to work to foster dialogue and explore historical and political issues, without retreating an inch.” But he didn’t just condemn the act.
In an interview with Shalom , Gabbai underlined how difficult it is today to address certain issues: “It has become very difficult to talk about the conflict in the Middle East because we no longer speak, but communicate through slogans and when we reason it becomes complex”.
And again: “We Italian Jews have realized that, despite the efforts made in recent years, latent anti-Semitism has dramatically resurfaced after October 7th. We have been rudely awakened and have understood that there is still much to do. As Sartre reminded us, anti-Semitism is also irrational, and that is why it is so difficult to combat. We must carefully monitor what is happening and remain vigilant. Today we live in an era marked by a worrying return to obscurantism, in which debate is reduced to mere slogans.” According to Gabbai, therefore, the act of intimidation is not isolated, but reflects a climate of growing hatred that finds fertile ground in the superficiality of public debate and in an anti-Semitism that has never entirely subsided.
