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Mural Honoring Holocaust Survivors in Milan Gets Vandalized Again With Swastikas, ‘Nazi’ Messages
A mural by AleXsandro Palombo that was vandalized in Milan. Photo: AleXsandro Palombo
Another mural in Milan celebrating Holocaust survivors by Italian contemporary pop artist AleXsandro Palombo has been targeted in an antisemitic attack, this time being vandalized with a swastika and Nazi-related messages.
The mural features real-life Holocaust survivors Liliana Segre, Sami Modiano, and Edith Bruck as characters from “The Simpsons.” Above their heads, vandals spray painted in black the message “Israeliani Nazis,” which is Italian for “Israeli Nazis.” Vandals also defaced the mural by spray painting a Star of David and equating it with a Nazi swastika. The mural additionally depicts Pope Francis holding a sign that says, “Antisemitism is everywhere.” His face was spray painted over and the words on his sign were defaced as well.
The vandalism took place shortly after a national pro-Palestinian demonstration in Milan.
“In Milan, people protest the war in Gaza with vandalism throughout the city, shouting every possible antisemitic insult and even defacing a pop artwork that honors three of the last great Holocaust witnesses and symbols of peace,” commented Palombo after the latest vandalism of his artwork. Several of his murals depicting Holocaust survivors have been repeatedly vandalized in antisemitic attacks, some even completely painted over.
The latest vandalism took place days after the April 7 inauguration of another of Palombo’s murals, “The Star of David,” which features Bruck. The original mural was vandalized in January in another act of antisemitism but was recently restored and has now been acquired for the permanent collection of the Shoah Museum in Rome. It is displayed alongside “Anti-Semitism, History Repeating” — another mural by Palombo featuring Segre and Modiano, that was also vandalized last year and acquired by the museum in January. Both artworks are now exhibited in Rome’s Jewish Ghetto, in front of a synagogue and the archaeological site of the ancient Portico of Octavia, built under Emperor Augustus.
The European Jewish Congress (EJC), Ambassador of Israel to Italy Jonathan Peled, European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno, and other Italian leaders have condemned the latest vandalism of Palombo’s mural in Mulan.
“We are appalled by the antisemitic vandalism in Milan,” the EJC said in a post on X. “This mural paid tribute to Liliana Segre, Sami Modiano, and Edith Bruck, three survivors who have dedicated their lives to Holocaust remembrance and education. We stand with them. We will not stay silent.”
“Those who deface art think they are offending us. Instead, they only strengthen our resolve and unity around the project of memory,” said Noemi Di Segni, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI). “This is a commitment we undertake as citizens for the future of our country.”
Picierno expressed solidarity with the Italian Jewish community after the lastest antisemitic vandalism of Palombo’s artwork. “Sadly, we are witnessing ongoing acts of intolerance and the trivialization of the Shoah,” he noted. “It is our duty to continue fighting antisemitism and all forms of hatred in society.”
“Antisemitism is spreading in Milan,” stated Minister for Regional Affairs of Italy Roberto Calderoli. “Just four months ago, I was appalled by the repeated defacement and removal of a mural dedicated to Segre and Modiano. Today I am further horrified by this latest act of defacement with the words ‘Israeli Nazis’ — targeting yet another mural by aleXsandro Palombo. This antisemitic trend in Milan is increasingly alarming and troubling. I’m also appalled by the consistent and complicit silence from the city’s leadership. I stand in full solidarity with Senator Liliana Segre, Edith Bruck, Sami Modiano, the Jewish community under attack for months, and the State of Israel.”
Senate Vice President Anna Rossomando called the vandalism “yet another deplorable act of antisemitism.” He added, “The escalation is concerning, and targeting Holocaust survivors makes the act even more vile.”
Over the span of 30 years, Palombo has created numerous artworks that condemn antisemitism and Hamas and honor Holocaust survivors – all of which have been vandalized in antisemitic attacks. They include the artworks “Simpsons Go to Auschwitz” at Milan’s Holocaust Memorial; “Anne Frank crying,” which depicts the teenage Holocaust victim and diarist wearing a concentration camp uniform and holding the Israeli flag; a mural of a Palestinian girl burning the Hamas flag; and the “Warsaw Ghetto boy,” which is a recreation of a hostage of Hamas terrorists. Palombo also created a mural featuring Vlada Patapov, nicknamed the “girl in red,” who survived the Nova music festival attack on Oct. 7, 2023. It was displayed at the University of Milan but was also defaced when Patapov’s head in the image was decapitated.
The post Mural Honoring Holocaust Survivors in Milan Gets Vandalized Again With Swastikas, ‘Nazi’ Messages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Series About Dutch Jewish Woman in Nazi-Occupied Amsterdam Premieres at Venice Film Festival
Venice, 82nd Venice International Film Festival 2025 – Day 7, Photocall for the film “Etty.” Pictured are Hagai Levi – Director, Julia Windischbauer, Sebastian Koch, Claire Bender, and Leopold Witte. Photo: Pool Photo Events 06IPA/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
A six-part television series inspired by the true story of a Dutch Jewish woman who wrote diaries and letters in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam made its world premiere out of competition on Sunday at the 82nd Venice Film Festival.
The Dutch and German-language drama series “Etty” is from Emmy Award-winning Israeli director and creator Hagai Levi, the visionary behind “The Affair,” “Our Boys,” and the remake of Ingmar Bergman’s “Scenes from a Marriage,” which he premiered four years ago at the Venice Film Festival. Levi also created the Israeli television series “BeTipul,” which was remade around the world as “In Therapy” and “In Treatment.” He attended the “Etty” premiere at Venice with the show’s cast, including lead stars Julia Windischbauer and Sebastian Koch.
“Etty” is inspired by the life and diaries of Dutch-Jewish writer Etty Hillesum, who chronicled for 18 months her experiences living in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. She refused to go into hiding and wrote from Amsterdam as well as the Westerbork transit camp. She was deported and murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1943 at age 29. Her diary entries and letters were published in 1979 and have gained global recognition. They have since been published in 18 languages.
“In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, 27-year-old Jewish Etty Hillesum begins therapy,” reads a synopsis of the series “Etty,” provided by the Venice Film Festival. “What starts as personal exploration becomes a spiritual awakening, documented in her diaries. Guided by psycho-chirologist Julius Spier, her mentor and lover, she undergoes a radical inner transformation. She’ll discover that even when all is taken, one can remain free within.”
Levi said he discovered a book about Hillesum’s diaries roughly 10 years ago and “after breathless reading, I felt I had found something I could talk about for the rest of my life.” He explained that Hillesum’s diary entries also helped him during his own personal journey and exploration of his Jewish faith.
“I grew up a pious Orthodox Jew. At 20, I left that world forcefully, violently, abandoning questions of God, faith, and meaning,” he said in a director’s statement shared by the festival. “I tried to fill the resulting void — and depression that came with it — with work, ambition, success; mostly in vain. Hillesum offered another option: a different religiosity, a new sense of faith, beyond institutional religion.”
Levi added that at the center of Hillesum’s diary “is a leap: from a neurotic, self-absorbed woman to someone with deep autonomy. That process is accelerated by the threat she faces as a Jewish woman … At some point, she knows that even when everything is taken from her — her home, her freedom, even her life — she still has an inner core that can’t be lost.”
The award-winning director noted that the messages shared in Hillesum’s diaries are still relevant and must be shared, “especially after the horrors that shake the world of so many, over the past two years,” which may be a reference to the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
He said Hillesum’s “rejection of hatred, solidarity with the unprivileged, and inner freedom have brought solace and meaning to countless readers over the 44 years since her diaries were published,” including the filmmaker himself.
“Above all, this is a love story: the love of a young woman for the man who awakened her soul, and out of that awakening — a love for life, God, and all humankind,” he said in conclusion.
Watch the trailer for “Etty” below.
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Israeli President to Meet Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks during a press conference with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics in Riga, Latvia, Aug. 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will travel to the Vatican on Thursday to meet Pope Leo, who has recently stepped up his calls for an end to the war in Gaza.
The one-day visit is being made at the invitation of the pope, Herzog’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.
The president will also meet Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican‘s chief diplomat, and tour the Vatican Archives and Library, it added.
“Central to their meetings will be the efforts to secure the release of the hostages, the fight against global antisemitism, and the safeguarding of Christian communities in the Middle East, alongside discussions on other political matters,” the presidency said.
Leo, the first US pope, last week issued a “strong appeal” for an to end to the nearly two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas, calling for a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages held in Gaza, and the provision of humanitarian aid.
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Iran Warns US Missile Demands Block Path to Nuclear Talks
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani speaks after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Aziz Taher
The path to nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States is not closed but US demands for curbs on Iranian missiles are obstructing prospects for talks, a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday.
A sixth round of Iran-US talks was suspended after the start of a 12-day war in June, in which Israel and the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities and Iran retaliated with waves of ballistic missiles against Israel.
“We indeed pursue rational negotiations. By raising unrealizable issues such as missile restrictions, they set a path that negates any talks,” the secretary of Iran‘s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said in a post on X.
Western countries fear Iran‘s uranium enrichment program could yield material for an atomic warhead and that it seeks to develop a ballistic missile to carry one.
Iran says its nuclear program is only for electricity generation and other civilian uses and that it is enriching uranium as fuel for these purposes.
It has denied seeking to create missiles capable of carrying nuclear payloads and says its defense capabilities cannot be open to negotiation in any talks over its atomic program.
Larijani’s comments follow last week’s launch by France, Germany, and Britain of a “snapback mechanism” that could reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program.
The three countries, also known as the E3, have urged Iran to engage in nuclear negotiations with the US, among other conditions, in order to have the imposition of the snapback sanctions delayed for up to six months.